Bill 96 is a reform of bill 101. It is about the protection of the French language.
In Québec, bill 96 is very welcome, even when it is perceived by many, including experts like Emeritus Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Charles Castonguay, as being possibly not strong enough. For instance (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1BqAzgpG3A), it may not address key questions like the funding of English-speaking colleges in Montreal by the government or the issue of the high number of immigrants to Québec who do not speak French before their arrival to Canada or those who do not benefit much from Francization efforts.
Perhaps the symbolic yet real strength of the proposed bill (http://m.assnat.qc.ca/fr/travaux-parlementaires/projets-loi/projet-loi-96-42-1.html) is that it seems to put Québec in a position of assertiveness (not dependence), in its relationship with the federal government, which is a remarkable change of mindset according to journalists and political analysts like Mr. Mario Dumont (https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2021/05/21/le-quebec-decomplexe-face-au-canada-frustre).
Bearing all this in mind, we learn from a CBC article by Mr. Jonathan Montpetit (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bloc-quebecois-motion-bill-96-1.6041350) that a Bloc Québécois (BQ) “seeking support for Quebec’s proposed constitutional amendments failed to pass unanimously in the House of Commons… In order to pass without debate, the motion needed to face no vocal opposition from MPs. Former Liberal justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, now an independent MP, yelled out a “nay” after the motion was read out”.
Bambi thinks very highly of Ms. Jody Wilson-Raybould because she is a principled politician.
She also has the utmost respect for Mr. Blanchet because of his loyalty to Québec.
Ms. Wilson-Raybould is right: Québec has never signed the Constitution of 1982. Indeed, it was imposed on it ever since. It is even used against it in court and in the public opinion in the English media (e.g., bill 101 on the French language, bill 21 on secularism, etc.).
Rightly, citizens of the rest of Canada may find it odd to see Québec seeking constitutional amendments without ever having endorsed the Constitution that the Canadian government repatriated from Great Britain ( entrenching our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms within it).
Even Mr. Gerald Butts, former Principal Secretary to Mr. Justin Trudeau, seems to agree with Ms. Wilson-Raybould on this one, unless she has other more deep legal reasons (https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/the-real-problem-with-quebecs-new-language-bill/).
As for Mr. Legault’s provincial government, Mr. Blanchet’s BQ federal party, and most importantly Québec’s people, they have shown a renewal of their vibrant and inspiring patriotism… within Canada. Isn’t this political attitude worth celebrating, even it may look or be partisan in the eyes of Ms. Wilson-Raybould?
