PLQ leadership: Denis Coderre wants to “scrap” law 96, others want to amend it

The question of the French language received attention during the last day of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) convention in Lévis. Denis Coderre wants to completely get rid of Law 96 while other aspiring leaders want to amend it.

We should scrape law 96launched the former mayor of Montreal on Sunday.

The reform of the Charter of the French language – commonly called loi 96 – was adopted by the National Assembly in May 2022. It subjects PME from 25 to 49 employees and businesses under federal jurisdiction to the Charter, in addition to imposing a freeze on registrations in English-speaking CEGEPs, in particular.

Less categorical than his opponent, former federal minister Pablo Rodriguez wants it to be modifiedin particular to remove restrictions in CEGEPs.

My basic philosophy is to always defend French – day, evening and morning – in our institutions. We will respect the rights guaranteed to the English-speaking minority, we will always do that too, but we are in a French environment, in a province where French is the official language.he said.

Major pitfalls for entrepreneurs

Another candidate for the leadership, Charles Milliard, claims that there is interesting points in law 96, but there are major pitfalls for entrepreneurs.

Talk to entrepreneurs. They will tell you, if they are not too embarrassed to tell you, that it is complicated, sometimes, to demonstrate that the position must be bilingual. People change jobs quickly. There are a lot of movements in organizations, so it becomes difficult. The translation of all contracts in all areas. We must question the efficiency and relevance of all thishe explained.

The member for Marguerite-Bourgeoys, Frédéric Beauchemin, also wants to amend it with regard to English-speaking CEGEPs.

As a parent, what I would have liked for my children was to send them to the CEGEP of their choice so that they could go to the university of their choice.

And if they want to go to an English-speaking university, because they want to have an international career or in Montreal with international clients, speaking English is a good deal for them.added Mr. Beauchemin.

Tax lawyer Marc Bélanger will take a position on the issue later.

Activists from PLQ were gathered in a conference from Friday to Sunday in Lévis, on the South Shore of Quebec. It was an opportunity for aspiring chefs to network and try to gain new support.

During the weekend, activists voted for a future Liberal government to propose, among other things, a constitution for Quebec and establish a teachers’ order.