With Bill 96, Quebec’s political leaders are shepherding the general public and small businesses to the brink of an economic and linguistic precipice. Surviving COVID, lockdowns, curfews, family fragmentation and inflationary pricing, and now, bearing witness to a horrifying war in Ukraine, have clearly not created enough angst for beleaguered Quebecers. With its extraordinary and heavy-handed language legislation, our own provincial government seems set on making life as difficult as possible for citizens and small businesses.
Soon we shall be living in a province where language inspectors will be authorized to enter, inspect and, in effect, harass any business with more than 24 employees. Many more students will not be able to attend the CEGEP of their choice. Heated language arguments at work, at home and during family reunions will again become part of our daily lives. All this despite having an evolved, peaceable and accepted framework already in place that maintains a high degree of protection for the French language.
For businesses that fail to comply with the language law, whose reach is now being extended to cover those with 25 employees or more, the fines are severe: up to $30,000 for a first offence, doubling and tripling thereafter. The bill goes further: “If an offence under this Act continues for more than one day, it constitutes a separate offence for each day it continues.” The unmistakable message: You will comply, because to resist will invite massive financial damage.
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