Quebec’s proposal to amend a section of Canada’s Constitution as part of the province’s changes to its language laws has been supported by all leaders of Canada’s major parties—much to the alarm of constitutional experts, who worry about implications for the federation itself.
On May 15, Quebec Premier Francois Legault announced that he had written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to inform him of Bill 96, Quebec’s “strongest action to protect our language, since the passage of Law 101 in 1977.” Bill 101 made French the official language of the government, courts, and workplaces in Quebec. The new legislation, Bill 96, would amend the Canadian Constitution to say that Quebec is a nation and that French is its official language.
