With the Quebec election fast approaching, many anglophones anxiously hoping for a Liberal party comeback \u2014 weary after years of the CAQ\u2019s obsession with language and identity politics, and fearful of the Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois\u2019 pledge to hold another referendum \u2014 were left agitated by Milliard\u2019s Bill 96 comments last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2022, the Liberals had voted against the beefed-up language legislation<\/a>, calling it \u201cflawed by numerous measures that go too far and, at best, deliver no real protection\u00a0to\u00a0the French language,\u201d and highlighting the law\u2019s denigration of Quebec\u2019s English-speaking community.<\/p>\n Milliard, however, has said he supports most of Bill 96 and would only tweak aspects related to bureaucratic rules for small and medium-size businesses and the burden on immigrants to learn French in six months to obtain government services. For many anglos, this position falls short but is grudgingly tolerated as a seemingly necessary evil to give the Liberals a fighting chance at winning. <\/p>\n What irked most anglos last week was Milliard\u2019s statement, when pressed by journalists, that to maintain Bill 96 he would re-apply the notwithstanding clause, which allows the government to pass laws that override fundamental freedoms (under review every five years). <\/p>\n After anglos reacted, Milliard tried to nuance his remarks<\/a> by saying he \u201cmaybe\u201d would re-invoke the clause, if necessary, which only led to confusion and accusations of flip-flopping.<\/p>\n With time, laws that override individual rights and freedoms \u2014 passed by nationalist governments and opposed by the Liberals in opposition \u2014 have become encrusted as part of the narrative of protecting Quebec\u2019s identity. So it seems with Bill 96. If someone questions it or the use of the notwithstanding clause, they are deemed to be against the protection of French. <\/p>\n But what if Milliard took the high road on Bill 96 instead of playing along with nationalist language orthodoxy?<\/p>\n During the 2014 election campaign, Phillippe Couillard was attacked for saying it\u2019s \u201ca great advantage for anyone to be bilingual,\u201d<\/a> even factory floor workers. Opponents in the PQ and CAQ expressed disbelief at what they deemed a weak defence of the French language. Couillard subsequently won a solid Liberal majority.\u00a0<\/p>\n Milliard could have seized the opportunity to promote unity and show leadership. He could have explained that not renewing the notwithstanding clause in 2027 would not nullify Bill 96 \u2014 it would just remove the shield and allow the courts eventually to duly analyze the law.<\/p>\n If provisions of the bill were found to violate rights, he could then decide to modify those clauses, redraft the law or even invoke the notwithstanding clause at that point \u2014 in the way it was intended to be used, and not pre-emptively to circumvent charters of rights altogether. <\/p>\n His inspirational message to Quebecers would have been: We\u2019re better than that. How positive! How refreshing!<\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n Yes, ardent nationalists may have hollered, but individual Quebecers are tolerant, particularly when important issues are explained rationally rather than caricatured as symbols. <\/p>\n Milliard could also have pivoted away from Bill 96 and the notwithstanding clause by proposing tangible measures to protect French via education, attacking dropout and illiteracy rates and ensuring wider availability of French courses for immigrants \u2014 concrete steps that the broader population could get behind.<\/p>\n Instead, it was par for the course for a party that too often takes the anglophone community for granted.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"close-up](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0502-oped-col-libman.jpg\")
With the Quebec election fast approaching, many anglophones anxiously hoping for a Liberal party comeback were left agitated by Charles Milliard\u2019s comments last week, notes Robert Libman.\u00a0 John Kenney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
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