Ex-premiers call for tougher enforcement of Bill 101

Six former Quebec premiers have signed an open letter supporting a motion by the Legault government calling for a toughening of the enforcement of Bill 101 and extending the language law's provisions to federally regulated businesses in the province.

Saying the public office they held “placed us at the heart of the promotion and the defence of the francophonie in America,” former Liberal premiers Daniel Johnson, Jean Charest and Philippe Couillard were joined by their Parti Québécois counterparts PierreMarc Johnson, Lucien Bouchard and Pauline Marois in expressing their support for the motion, which was adopted unanimously by the National Assembly on Nov. 24.

The open letter, posted Wednesday in La Presse, says the protection of the French language “demands that elected officials be vigilant at all times.”

Among other things, the motion on Bill 101 states that the National Assembly recognizes that the use of French is in decline in Quebec and that it is “absolutely unacceptable that it is becoming more and more difficult for Quebecers to have their fundamental rights guaranteed by (Bill 101) respected, such as the right to be served and informed in French or the right to work in French.”

The motion also demands that Ottawa co-operate with the extension of the provisions of Bill 101 to “businesses under federal jurisdiction in Quebec.”

It also notes that the actions proposed in the motion on Bill 101 “must necessarily be carried out in respect of the rights of English-speaking Quebecers ... without leading to a reduction in the services offered to them in their language.”