Jagged little bill: Do Anglophone Quebecers need to be worried about Bill 96?

Thousands of protesters took the streets of Montreal last week to call for Quebec government to throw out Bill 96. The bill specifies that Quebec’s civil administration workers—including those in healthcare—must be “exemplary” and as such use only French in both oral and written communication with clients, allowing for some exceptions. But Premier François Legault accused his critics of spreading disinformation. He held a press conference reassuring English-speaking Quebecers that they will still be able to access healthcare in English, the Montreal Gazette reported. So, is there cause for concern? Many legal experts have warned that the language of the bill doesn’t do much to delineate a true guarantee that people will still be able to access care in English—and some of its language appears to threaten that access. “To say there’s nothing here to worry about doesn’t seem to me to reflect what people are seeing in the text of the legislation,” Robert Leckey, dean of the faculty of law at McGill University told the Gazette. “Does any other province forbid a German-speaking doctor and a German-speaking patient, or a German-speaking social worker and a German-speaking client … from speaking in a language in which they could best communicate? That’s what I’m concerned about.” Eric Maldoff, a Montreal lawyer and chair of the Coalition for Quality Health and Social Services told the Gazette the bill looks to prohibit certain communications. “It’s one thing to legislate that certain communication is required, like everyone is entitled to be served in French,” he said. “But to go the next step and say nobody can be treated in another language except if the law permits it is a completely different story.” In his own recent press conference, Simon Jolin-Barette, minister for the French language, noted an amendment was put forward in February that means the bill doesn’t supersede Section 15 of the Act Respecting Health Services and Social Services and therefore doesn’t take away Anglophones’ current right to be served in English. The language of that amendment is vague, according to Maldoff, who noted its current form appears to apply to healthcare emergencies, rather than daily care. He also said the amendment doesn’t apply to situations like mental heath care, where ease of communication is vital. Read: Bill 96: If you don’t want to do something, one reason is as good as another

Jagged little bill: Do Anglophone Quebecers need to be worried about Bill 96?

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