The legal dispute over Quebec's language policy began soon after the enactment of
Bill 101
The ''Charter of the French Language'' (french: link=no, La charte de la langue française), also known in English as Bill 101, Law 101 (''french: link=no, Loi 101''), or Quebec French Preference Law, is a law in the province of Quebec in Canada ...
, establishing the
Charter of the French Language
The ''Charter of the French Language'' (french: link=no, La charte de la langue française), also known in English as Bill 101, Law 101 (''french: link=no, Loi 101''), or Quebec French Preference Law, is a law in the province of Quebec in Canada ...
, by the
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...
in 1977.
The Charter, enacted under the
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
government of
René Lévesque
René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to attempt ...
, expanded upon Quebec's previous language legislation,
Bill 22
The ''Official Language Act'' of 1974 (french: Loi sur la langue officielle), also known as Bill 22, was an act of the National Assembly of Quebec, commissioned by Premier Robert Bourassa, which made French the sole official language of Quebec, ...
, also known as the Official Language Act, enacted in 1974 under the
Liberal Party of Quebec
The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; e ...
government of
Robert Bourassa
Robert Bourassa (; July 14, 1933 – October 2, 1996) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd premier of Quebec from 1970 to 1976 and from 1985 to 1994. A member of the Liberal Party of Quebec, he served a total of just un ...
. Earlier language legislation in Quebec had included
Bill 63
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
in 1969, and the
La Vergne Law of 1910.
Both statutes were drafted in an attempt to follow the recommendations of the
(the Gendron Commission).
Unlike the (Quebec) Official Language Act of 1974 (not to be confused with the federal
Official Languages Act), the Charter of the French Language was a legal framework defining the linguistic rights of Quebecers, and a language management policy giving the
Government of Quebec
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
the power to intervene in many sectors of public life to promote French as the common language of all citizens. Its enactment by the National Assembly sparked a legal battle that still goes on today.
Before 1982
In 1867, the
British Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...
passed the ''British North America Act, 1867'', now known as the ''
Constitution Act, 1867
The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...
'', which became the supreme law of the Dominion of Canada (although it was modified several times, it is still part of the
Constitution of Canada
The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents a ...
). This act contains only one section (section 133) dealing with language. It reads:
"Either the English or the French Language may be used by any Person in the Debates of the Houses of the Parliament of Canada and of the Houses of the Legislature of Quebec; and both those Languages shall be used in the respective Records and Journals of those Houses; and either of those Languages may be used by any Person or in any Pleading or Process in or issuing from any Court of Canada established under this Act, and in or from all or any of the Courts of Quebec."
"The Acts of the Parliament of Canada and of the Legislature of Quebec shall be printed and published in both those Languages."
Language of legislation and justice
Three Quebec Lawyers,
Peter Blaikie
Peter Macfarlane Blaikie is a Canadian lawyer and a bilingual politician from Quebec and founder of Heenan Blaikie.
Genealogy
Blaikie was born in Shawinigan, Mauricie on May 10, 1937. He was the son of Kenneth Guy "Bill" Blaikie (1897–1968 ...
,
Roland Durand and
Yoine Goldstein
Yoine J. Goldstein (May 11, 1934 – March 18, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer, academic, and former Senator.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, his education includes a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University in 1955, a Bachelor of Civil Law (with honours) ...
first challenged the constitutionality of the ''Charter of the French Language'' under section 133.
In 1979, the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
declared Chapter III of the ''Charter of the French Language''
unconstitutional
Constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applicable constitution. When l ...
, citing it contrary to section 133 of the
British North America Act of 1867
The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...
. The highest court in Canada judged that the enacting and passing of laws had to be done in both French and English in the parliaments of Quebec and Canada.
Sections 7 to 13 of the ''Charter of the French Language'' had made French the only language of legislation and only provided for a translation of laws in English at the end of the legislative process.
The Quebec government responded by re-enacting the charter (and all other acts enacted since 1977) in French and English. Sections 7 to 13 of the charter were however left untouched.
In 1981, another Supreme Court decision (''Quebec (Attorney General) v. Blaikie (No. 2)'') declared that section 133 also applied to government
regulation
Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...
s.
After 1982
The
patriation
Patriation is the political process that led to full Canadian sovereignty, culminating with the Constitution Act, 1982. The process was necessary because under the Statute of Westminster 1931, with Canada's agreement at the time, the Parliament o ...
of the Canadian Constitution occurred as the British Parliament passed the
Canada Act 1982
The Canada Act 1982 (1982 c. 11; french: Loi de 1982 sur le Canada) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and one of the enactments which make up the Constitution of Canada. It was enacted at the request of the Senate and House of ...
. This act enacted the
Constitution Act, 1982
The ''Constitution Act, 1982'' (french: link=no, Loi constitutionnelle de 1982) is a part of the Constitution of Canada.Formally enacted as Schedule B of the ''Canada Act 1982'', enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 60 of t ...
for Canada (including the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...
), which has two provisions which have provided the basis for further constitutional disputes concerning Quebec's Charter of the French Language.
Section 2 of the Charter guarantees freedom of expression, which opens the door to challenges to laws which restrict an individual's ability to use a particular language, while
section 23 introduced the notion of "minority language education rights".
Alliance Quebec Alliance Quebec (AQ) was a group formed in 1982 to lobby on behalf of English-speaking Quebecers in the province of Quebec, Canada. It began as an umbrella group of many English-speaking organizations and institutions in the province, with approxima ...
, an Anglophone rights lobby group was founded in May 1982. It is through this civil association that various anglophone lawyers challenged the constitutionality of Quebec's territorial language policy.
Language of instruction
Quebec (A.G.) v. Quebec Protestant School Boards
In 1984, the Supreme Court invalidated Chapter VIII of the Quebec Charter of the French Language on the basis of its incompatibility with section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Section 23 of the Canadian Charter reads:
(1) Citizens of Canada
(a) whose first language learned and still understood is that of the English or French linguistic minority population of the province in which they reside, or
(b) who have received their primary school instruction in Canada in English or French and reside in a province where the language in which they received that instruction is the language of the English or French linguistic minority population of the province,
have the right to have their children receive primary and secondary school instruction in that language in that province.
Section 73 of the Charter of the French language had recognized the right to English language instruction to Quebec residents alone. Canadian citizens from outside Quebec are forced to send their children to French primary and secondary schools, in direct violation of S26.(3) of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, which states that "''Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
On July 26, 1984, the Supreme Court invalidated part of Section 73. Judged retroactively unconstitutional, the section had to be modified so that it no longer clashes with the Canadian charter's definition of a linguistic minority. The current Section 73 of the Charter of the French language reads:
The following children, at the request of one of their parents, may receive instruction in English:
1) a child whose father or mother is a Canadian citizen and received elementary instruction in English in Canada, provided that that instruction constitutes the major part of the elementary instruction he or she received in Canada;
2) a child whose father or mother is a Canadian citizen and who has received or is receiving elementary or secondary instruction in English in Canada, and the brothers and sisters of that child, provided that that instruction constitutes the major part of the elementary or secondary instruction received by the child in Canada;
3) a child whose father and mother are not Canadian citizens, but whose father or mother received elementary instruction in English in Québec, provided that that instruction constitutes the major part of the elementary instruction he or she received in Québec;
4) a child who, in their last year in school in Québec before 26 August 1977, was receiving instruction in English in a public kindergarten class or in an elementary or secondary school, and the brothers and sisters of that child;
5) a child whose father or mother was residing in Québec on 26 August 1977 and had received elementary instruction in English outside Québec, provided that that instruction constitutes the major part of the elementary instruction he or she received outside Québec.
In 2005, a Supreme Court ruling upheld Section 73 of the Charter of the French language and its corresponding subsections (1 through 5). See Maclean's 5 April 2005, an article by John Geddes entitled "Tweaking the Language Laws". It maintains that the court upheld S.73 yet provided for flexibility in matters dealing with English-speaking Canadians and immigrants from other countries.
Bill 104
In August 2007, the
Quebec Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal of Quebec (sometimes referred to as Quebec Court of Appeal or QCA) (in French: ''la Cour d'appel du Québec'') is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada. It hears cases in Quebec City and Montreal.
History
The Court wa ...
ruled that a section of the province's language legislation is unlawful.
The judgment stated that Bill 104, an amendment to the Charter passed in 2002 that stopped children of
francophone
French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...
and newcomers from using the English educational system, was contrary to the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...
.
The amendment was passed to thwart entry to English schools by pupils who had gone to at least one year of an unsubsidized private institution.
It had been passed unanimously (by all parties) in the provincial legislature.
The
Appeal Court
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
verdict disallowed a segment of Bill 104,
suggesting that students can be present English public establishments if they have been at an English private academy for a minimum of one year or have been permitted a special dispensation.
The Quebec government immediately announced it would appeal the decision to the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
,
which it did.
A judgment was given that delays use of that conclusion until the Supreme Court of Canada judges on a provincial administration request.
The challenge to Bill 104 will continue but with funding from the English school boards affected, as the federal
Court Challenges Program established for such minority language rights was cut by the Conservative minority government.
There is a precedent for having the government pay the fees of the challenging side, or appointing an ''
amicus curiae
An ''amicus curiae'' (; ) is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. The decision on ...
''.
A representative of the
Quebec Association of Independent Schools
Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
proclaimed its goal to strike the delay, and
Brent Tyler, the advocate for the 26 families in the case, declared he would pull together an appeal.
The
Quebec English School Board Association
Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
(QESBA) suspected the volume of probable English system learners who might be affected by this result to be 500 annually, the majority of whom would enroll in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
schools. It said such a loss to the French school enrollment of almost 1 million would be unimportant. It asked that the decision be respected until it can be referred to the Supreme Court.
About half of all enrollment decline in the
EMSB since 2002 has resulted from Bill 104, a low
fertility rate
The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if:
# she were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through her lifetime
# she were t ...
and
urban sprawl
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
being other reasons, said a spokesman.
A union of trusts zealous to watch over French is supporting the Quebec government in its venture to overturn the Quebec Appeal Court ruling.
Former CSN leader
Gérald Larose
Gérald Larose (born October 24, 1945) is a Quebec activist, professor, and former President of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux labour union. He is currently head of the Conseil de la Souveraineté du Québec, Pierre, Samuel, ''Ces Qu ...
, chairman of the
Conseil de la souveraineté, vilified this "undermining" of the so-called Bill 101 by an "English judge". (Larose was also the
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
–appointed president of a commission on the future of the French language and has agitated for some time that Quebec be granted unshared supremacy over language legislation, despite the Canadian constitution which divides such power between the national and provincial governments.)
Jean Dorion, president of the ''
Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste
The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (french: Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste) is an institution in Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic assoc ...
de Montréal'', lamented that Appeals Court judges are appointed by the national government and asserted that they should not have the power to overrule Quebec's language laws.
Other commentators remonstrated that Justice Hilton had previously served as legal counsel for
Alliance Quebec Alliance Quebec (AQ) was a group formed in 1982 to lobby on behalf of English-speaking Quebecers in the province of Quebec, Canada. It began as an umbrella group of many English-speaking organizations and institutions in the province, with approxima ...
, an anglophone rights group. ''
Le Devoir
''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910.
''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large-c ...
'' reported, however, that the Quebec department of justice did not ask Hilton to
recuse
Judicial disqualification, also referred to as recusal, is the act of abstaining from participation in an official action such as a legal proceeding due to a conflict of interest of the presiding court official or administrative officer. Applica ...
himself from the case.
Through a spokesperson, the Ministry of Justice said that such a recusal was not necessary and that the government trusts the Court of Appeal to be fair.
Parti québécois leader
Pauline Marois
Pauline Marois (; born March 29, 1949) is a retired Canadian politician, who served as the 30th premier of Quebec from 2012 to 2014. Marois had been a member of the National Assembly in various ridings since 1981 as a member of the Parti Québ ...
suggested the ruling could be "catastrophic" and described it as unsatisfactory. Over the 30-year life of Bill 101 "about 4,000 children have used this to get into the English network," she said, as opposed to the French network.
Language of commercial signs
Ford v. Quebec (Attorney General)
In 1988, the Supreme Court ruled that the sections of the Charter of the French Language enforcing the exclusive use of French on outdoor commercial signs were unconstitutional. The Court-based this decision on the guarantee of freedom of expression in s. 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The Supreme Court remarked that the Quebec government could legitimately require French to have "greater visibility" or "marked predominance" on exterior commercial signs, however it could not enforce the exclusive use of French.
With the ''Act to amend the Charter of the French language'', S.Q. 1988, c. 54 (also known as ''Bill 178''), the National Assembly (under a Quebec Liberal government) made use of the
notwithstanding clause
Section 33 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' is part of the Constitution of Canada. It is commonly known as the notwithstanding clause (french: clause dérogatoire, links=no or ), sometimes referred to as the override power, and ...
of the Canadian constitution and amended the Charter by allowing English provided that the letters are no larger than half the size of the French.
Ballantyne, Davidson, McIntyre v. Canada
The use of the notwithstanding clause led to formal complaints by three Quebecers: John Ballantyne, Elizabeth Davidson, and Gordon McIntyre, who own businesses in
Sutton, Quebec
Sutton is a town in southwestern Quebec. It is part of the Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality in the administrative region of the Estrie. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 4,548. Historically, Sutton is considered to be p ...
and
Huntingdon, Quebec
Huntingdon is a small town in Huntingdon County in the Haut-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality and the Montérégie region of the province of Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 2,457. The town is southwest o ...
. In 1993, they brought their case before the
Human Rights Committee of the United Nations.
They challenged sections 1, 6 and 10 of Bill No. 178 enacted by the Quebec legislature on 22 December 1988. They alleged to be victims of violations of articles 2, 19, 26 and 27 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedo ...
by the Federal Government of Canada and by the Province of Quebec, due to the Act's prohibitions on the use English in advertising or in the name of their firms.
After hearing both parties, the Committee gave its opinion on what it believed to be the three major issues:
*(a) whether Sec.58 of the Charter of the French Language, as amended by Bill 178, Sec.1, violates any right that the authors might have by virtue of article 27;
*(b) whether Sec.58 of the Charter of the French Language, as amended by Bill 178, Sec.1, violates the authors' right to freedom of expression;
*(c) whether the same provision is compatible with the authors' right to equality before the law.
* 1. The Committee observed that "provisions of article 27 refers to minorities in States", which English-speaking people in Canada are not. It stated that the "authors therefore have no claim under article 27 of the Covenant".
* 2. The Committee disagreed with the Government of Quebec which asserted "that commercial activities such as outdoor advertising do not fall within the ambit of article 19." The Committee stated "Article 19, paragraph 2, must be interpreted as encompassing every form of subjective ideas and opinions capable of transmission to others, which are compatible with article 20 of the Covenant, of news and information, of commercial expression and advertising, of works of art, etc.; it should not be confined to means of political, cultural or artistic expression." The Committee believed that "it
asnot necessary, in order to protect the vulnerable position in Canada of the francophone group, to prohibit commercial advertising in English." It suggested that "This protection may be achieved in other ways that do not preclude the freedom of expression, in a language of their choice, of those engaged in such fields as trade. For example, the law could have required that advertising be in both French and English." It concluded that "A State may choose one or more official languages, but it may not exclude, outside the spheres of public life, the freedom to express oneself in a language of one's choice. The Committee accordingly concludes that there has been a violation of article 19, paragraph 2."
* 3. Regarding the right to equality, the Committee found that "the authors have not been discriminated against on the ground of their language, and concludes that there has been no violation of article 26 of the Covenant."
There were 5 concurring and dissenting opinions, signed by eight Committee members.
Internet
The Court of Quebec rendered a number of decisions regarding the applicability of the Charter to advertising over the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
. The court found that commercial websites of businesses that operate from Quebec and sell to Quebec need to conform to the provisions of the Charter regarding the rights of Quebecers to receive services in French. In ''
A.G. of Quebec (Procureur Général) c. Stanley John Reid et Frances Muriel Reid'' (JE 2002-1266), the defendant raised the argument that the content of Internet is of exclusive federal jurisdiction pursuant to the
Constitution Act, 1867
The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...
, and thus its regulation is ''
ultra vires
('beyond the powers') is a Latin phrase used in law to describe an act which requires legal authority but is done without it. Its opposite, an act done under proper authority, is ('within the powers'). Acts that are may equivalently be termed ...
'' of the Quebec Government. The court confirmed the applicability of the Charter on advertising over the Internet.
Compliance
With the ''Act to amend the Charter of the French language'', S.Q. 1993, c. 40 (also known as ''Bill 86''), the National Assembly (under a Quebec Liberal government) amended the Charter of the French Language to make it comply with the Supreme Court rulings. The amending law introduced the "Canada Clause" which replaced the "Quebec Clause". That is, the recognized right to English language education was extended to all Canadian citizens. It also introduced the current regulations on the "marked predominance" of French on outdoor commercial signs in conformity with the Supreme Court suggestion.
As suggested by the Supreme Court ruling, the current law specifies that commercial outdoor signs can be multilingual so long as French is markedly predominant. The current provisions regarding exterior commercial signs were confirmed as constitutional by the Quebec Court of Appeal in ''R.'' c. ''Entreprises W.F.H.''
001/nowiki> R.J.Q. 2557 (C.A.) (also known as "The Lyon & the Walrus Case"). Today, many businesses choose to put up French-only signs, and at times, even change their registered trademarks to adapt to the Quebec market. Nevertheless, English–French bilingualism quickly returned on exterior signs after 1993, especially on the island of Montreal.
See also
* Anglophone problem (Cameroon)
* Language planning
In sociolinguistics, language planning (also known as language engineering) is a deliberate effort to influence the function, structure or acquisition of languages or language varieties within a speech community.Kaplan B., Robert, and Richard ...
* Language policy
Language policy is an interdisciplinary academic field. Some scholars such as Joshua Fishman and Ofelia García consider it as part of sociolinguistics. On the other hand, other scholars such as Bernard SpolskyRobert B. Kaplanand Joseph Lo Bianco ...
Notes
References
;In English
* Gérald-A. Beaudoin,
Bill 101 Case
, in ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', 2006
* R. Hudon,
Bill 86
", in ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', 2006
* R. Hudon,
Bill 178
, in ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', 2006
*
, Department of Justice Canada, March 5, 2002
*
, Canadian Legal Information Institute
*
John Ballantyne Elizabeth Davidson, and Gordon McIntyre Complaint followed by the Opinion of the Committee
, Human Rights Committee of the United Nations
*Kondaks, Tony. (November 14, 1988
“The Doctrine of ‘Preponderance of Blood’ in South Africa, the Soviet Union and Quebec”
Freedom House
Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wil ...
, ''Exchange''
* Ramsey Clark
''A legal opinion on international law, language and the future of French-speaking Canada''
June 14, 1993
* Gregory Baum
''Ethical Reflections on Bill 101''
1993
* Marc Chevrier
''The principles and means of Québec's language policy''
Ministère des Relations internationales du Québec, February 1997
;In French
*
, in the website of the Office québécois de la langue française, September 18, 2006
* Jacques Leclerc,
, in the website ''L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde''
* Jacques Leclerc,
, in the website ''L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde'', 21 décembre, 2005
*
Histoire de l'interventionnisme de l'État dans le domaine linguistique
, Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de la Mauricie
* Françoise Labelle,
, 2004
* Marc Chevrier,
, in ''Uni.ca''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Legal Dispute Over Quebec's Language Policy
Political history of Quebec
Bilingualism in Canada
Quebec language policy
Linguistic controversies
Language legislation
Language conflict in Canada