An opportunity for Duhaime

The voters have spoken. Riding the crest of a massive election victory that encompassed virtually all of Quebec but for the island of Montreal, François Legault will govern for the next four years.

A beaten Liberal Party has maintained its Official Opposition status while suffering serious losses in the popular vote and seats.

What lies in store for the anglophone community, given the impact of Bill 96?

Despite the community's dissatisfaction with the Liberals, all their candidates in the West Island and west-end Montreal were re-elected.

Being thusly rewarded, there seems to be little incentive for the Liberal party to be overly concerned about any election loss of these ridings going forward.

There is little fertile ground remaining in other parts of Quebec that has not been cultivated by the CAQ or pursued by Québec solidaire and the Parti Québécois.

The opportunity may rest with Éric Duhaime — the leader of the Quebec Conservative Party, which garnered an impressive 13 per cent of the popular vote (though no seat in the legislature) — to form a de-facto opposition to the CAQ using Bill 96 as the defining issue.

I see this bill as being not only abusive to the anglophone community, but harmful to the future of Quebec and its youth.

This would call for an extensive campaign throughout Quebec that would expound on the virtues of the promotion and protection of the French language done by positive means — that is, without the egregious diminution of the English language as called for in Bill 96.

In my view, if the bill is not modified, its impact on commerce, health, education, immigration and culture will have a serious negative impact on the standard of living of every Quebecer.

It is an honest message that can be delivered with the force of truth.

Sam Mitnick, Côte-st-luc