Bilingual Quebec Municipalities Fail to Suspend Parts of French-Language Reform

Municipalities in Quebec that identify as bilingual have recently attempted to halt the implementation of certain elements of Bill 96, an extensive French-language reform. They took their plea to the Quebec Superior Court, arguing that the law could have dire consequences for their communities, including the risk of losing federal funding and facing stricter regulatory actions by the language authority, which they claim would have powers surpassing that of the police.

In a ruling issued by Justice Silvana Conte, the court dismissed the municipalities' case for a stay, emphasizing that such orders should be reserved for exceptional circumstances. She noted that the plaintiffs failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish that the law had caused them significant harm. The implications of Bill 96 are particularly significant for bilingual municipalities, as they have the legal right to communicate with residents in both English and French. In contrast, municipalities lacking bilingual status are barred from engaging with their population in English.

During court proceedings, a lawyer for the municipalities, Julius Grey, expressed concerns regarding the law's potential impact on predominantly English-speaking communities. He raised issues about the difficulty of entering contracts in English and retaining unilingual anglophone employees under the new regulations. Moreover, he claimed that the law grants an extensive level of authority to the Office québécois de la langue française, including the ability to seize various types of documentation, which could breach confidentiality norms, such as attorney-client privilege.

In response, Charles Gravel, representing the provincial government, challenged the municipalities' claims, arguing that there was no empirical evidence of harm, such as the seizure of documents or reductions in federal subsidies. He suggested that the concerns raised were exaggerated and not directly supported by the legislation itself. Quebec’s Bill 96 was enacted in 2022 and includes provisions that invoke the notwithstanding clause, thereby protecting it from certain legal challenges. The municipalities involved in this legal dispute comprise various regions, including suburbs of Montreal as well as smaller border towns.