Quebec French language Bill 96

Opponents of Bill 96 say the proposed law will restrict access to education, health care, and justice for those who don't speak French.

"They don't have the English rights," she said. Tabled a year ago, Bill 96 is in the final stages of passing and is expected to come to a vote in the National Assembly later this month. "We're struggling to keep our own language alive. The minister responsible for the French language in Quebec, Simon Jolin-Barrette, has vigorously defended Bill 96 in the face of criticism, as has Legault, who has called it reasonable, balanced and necessary "to assure the adequate protection of the French language." In order to ensure that French is "the official and common language of Quebec", the government would also impose new obligations related to the use of French in companies with 25 to 49 employees, limit the use of English in the courts and public services, grant powers of search and seizure without a warrant to Quebec's language regulator and cap enrolment at English CEGEPs to prevent more students from French-language schools from switching over to the English stream. It would make several changes to the 1977 Charter of the French Language, also known as Bill 101, by strengthening the status of French in "all spheres of society."