Charest forcing through new Quebec language law

Quebec Premier Jean Charest has called an emergency legislative sittingand debate on Monday to force the passage of controversial language legislation.

The Liberal government is poised to invoke closure and use its majority at the national assembly to override opposition parties and adopt Bill 103. The legislation wouldimpose new limits on eligibility for Quebec's English public school system,replacing an older law the Supreme Court of Canada declared unconstitutional last year.

Culture Minister Christine St-Pierre says the current situation is "an emergency" and warrants extreme measures such as closure to bypass opposition and adopt the new legislation before the Supreme Court's one-year deadline.

Quebec was ordered to come up with alternative school and language eligibility rules, after the Supreme Courtstruck downthe province's older law, known as Bill 104,as excessive and in violation of constitutional rights.

Bill 104 wasenacted in 2002 by the last Parti Qubcois government to close a loophole in the province'sFrench Language Charter, which dictates policy in all provincial sectors. The loophole hadenabled parents to obtainEnglish-language public school eligibility for their children byfirst sending them toEnglish private schools for a year or less. With Bill 104 in place, fewer parents were able to move their children into the English system.

A group of parents launched a legal challenge almost eight years ago, which culminated inthe Supreme Courtrulingon Oct. 22, 2009.

Bill 103tightens but does notban

Bill 103 creates a complexsystem that would make it very difficult but not impossible for non-anglophones to attend English schools.

The legislation has raised the ire of theopposition Parti Qubcois and Action Dmocratique du Qubec, which have called it too soft and permeable.

"Everything is wrong" with the Liberal government's legal solution to the Supreme Court ruling, said PQ critic Pierre Curzi. The PQ wants an all-out ban onnon-anglophonesattending English public or private schools.

But St-Pierre said it is impossible to ban English school attendance without suspending civil rights.

"We don't want to suspend the civil rights of any Quebecers on a linguistic matter," the culture minister said this week. "I don't think Quebec society wants to live in a society where you suspend civil rights."

Under Bill 103, children who attend English private schools for three years will be eligible for the English public system.