Electors in Quebec will be receiving their election guides and voter information cards in French only this election due to the language law, known as Bill 96, according to Elections Quebec. “Previously, Elections Quebec used French and English to inform electors about how they could exercise their right to vote,” the agency said Tuesday. “It must now give priority to French due to the amendments that An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec (PDF – in French) made to the Charter of the French Language.” In an interview on Tuesday, Elections Quebec told CTV News it had requested an exemption from the language law in order to continue sending documents to voters in English and French, but the request was denied by Quebec’s Minister of the French Language, Jean-François Roberge, and the Commissioner of the French Language, Benoît Dubreuil. “We are really sensitive about that. We understand the right to vote is fundamental, and that’s why we tried to have this exemption,” said spokesperson Julie St-Arnaud-Drolet. “We asked for an exemption first because, for us, the right to vote is a fundamental right, and also because of the short duration of the election period, because the Charter of the French language [states] that an elector can ask for documentation in English if they have the right to receive an English document, but because of the short duration of the election period, we don’t have time to send those documents back in English, and that was our main argument in order to obtain an exemption.” Elections Quebec said it understands there are concerns but it is bound by Bill 96. Roberge’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. In an email, the Commissioner of the French Language said that the commissioner does not have the authority to create exceptions for the French language charter and that Elections Quebec is subject to the new language law. “The Charter and its regulations provide for certain exceptions allowing the use of another language in specific situations,” wrote spokesperson Dominic Bédard. “However, these exceptions do not permit the systematic dissemination of communications in a language other than French.” Decision raises constitutional questions Constitutional lawyer Frédéric Bérard questions, however, the legality of the decision, noting that the law, known as Bill 96, and its accompanying notwithstanding clause, only pertain to the Quebec and Canadian charters. “It might be unconstitutional because, to be frank, if you take a look at Section 133 of the bill that created Canada in 1867 [the Constitution Act of 1867], it says that the National Assembly, so Quebec Parliament, has to be bilingual, right?” he said. According to Section 133, “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.” It notes, “The Acts of the Parliament of Canada and of the Legislature of Quebec shall be printed and published in both those languages.” Bérard explains that by refusing to provide adequate electoral information to its English-speaking minority, the Quebec government may be violating the constitution. “This is why I think that there’s a way to strike down that sort of section in order to protect the minority rights here,” he said. Bérard notes that there may still be time to ask for a suspension of the application for the bill. “You have enough time. You have 35 days, about, so it’s enough to ask the court to stop the application as we speak, at least temporarily,” he said. “But obviously, there is no time to do a debate on the merits.” ‘An obligation ... not an option,’ says Tom Mulcair Political analyst Tom Mulcair said the French-only materials are “not an option” and that a legal challenge should get underway “immediately.” “I’m surprised and appalled that Elections Quebec would contrive to remove English from all of the documents for this election,” he said. “Quebec has to enact the whole process of enactment of all its legislation and its subordinate legislation, regulations and the like has to be in both languages. Failing to provide all of these documents in English and in French is clearly illegal, unconstitutional, and could compromise the result of the election. And it should be challenged immediately, even before the election takes place.” He said the notion of providing a QR code to English-speaking voters is foreign territory, especially for older voters, and says it implies they don’t have the same rights. “It is voter suppression of people who rely on that English version,” he said, adding that it further strengthens the weight of the argument that it is “illegal and unconstitutional,” adding it “could constitute a reason to challenge the whole electoral process in this current general election.” “The idea that somehow a QR code compensates for that is ridiculous -- it doesn’t,” he said. “It’s a constitutional obligation. It’s not an option, and it has to be corrected immediately.” Mulcair said the French-only documents send a message to the English-speaking community: “that its rights are not being respected by a government agency with a very essential mandate, making sure that we have clean, legal elections,” he said. “Having this in both official languages is an obligation. It’s not an option.” The documents Elections Quebec notes that to help anglophone and allophone voters, the documents provided will include a QR code to “facilitate access to information in English” on the Elections Quebec website. “We will expand our efforts to reach voters throughout the election period,” Elections Quebec insisted. “In particular, we will run advertisements in English-language media (television, radio and newspapers) as well as on several websites and online streaming platforms, such as Spotify.” Elections Quebec explains that three information documents are delivered to voters during a provincial election: “The provincial election guide and the notice of entry are sent together,” Elections Quebec said. “Every address in Quebec will receive them no later than the week of Sept. 14. Then, during the week of Sept. 28, the reminder card will arrive in the mailboxes of households where electors are entered on the list of electors.” Exceptions Elections Quebec points out that certain electors can still obtain information in English if they contact the agency: The Quebec election is slated for Oct. 5. With files from CTV News’ Kelly Greig
