Jean Charest is upset with the Supreme Court's ruling on Bill 104

Bilingualism in Canada is undeniably one of the most prevalent aspects of our international identity. All of our federal documents are printed in both English and French, despite the fact that only one of our provinces is officially bilingual (and no, it’s not Quebec – only New Brunswick is officially bilingual, meaning the provincial government prints documentation in both languages). Despite all this, language laws have often been a topic of contention within the country and particularly within Quebec. Almost one hundred years after the first language law passed in Quebec, we still find ourselves unable to reach middle ground when it comes to our languages – particularly in the education system. Up until recently, there was a loophole in the Quebecois language laws which allowed parents to send their children to English public school if they had previously attended an English private school. The majority of children in Quebec, however, are required to attend French public school. In 2002, Jean Charest’s government closed the loophole (Bill 104) thus preventing a much larger percentage of students from attending English public school in Quebec. Without the loophole, only students who passed a lengthy assessment of circumstance were granted permission. Yesterday, a disgruntled group of parents who opposed Bill 104 and had taken their displeasure up with the supreme court won a “partial victory” when the supreme court ruled Bill 104 as “unconstitutional and excessive”. Naturally, the Quebecois government is upset, claiming that by allowing a larger minority of children to enroll in the limited English school system in Quebec, the French language is not being preserved.
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On October 22 2009, the Supreme Court of Canada judged Quebec’s Bill 104 to be unconstitutional.  The controversial bill was enacted in 2002 by the Quebec ruling party of the day, the Parti Quebecois, and has since been subject of a slew of courts cases, the issue eventually reaching Quebec’s Court of Appeal in 2007, where it ruled against the bill.  Two years later, Justice Louis LeBel of the Supreme Court of Canada has taken a similar stance, calling the bill, “excessive” and giving Quebec a 1 year grace period to address and rectify the situation.

In the province already currently possessing the most restrictive language policies in the country, Bill 104 eliminated the last hope for Anglophones in Quebec to obtain English language education without being subjected to a long and trying process for determining ‘eligibility’ for this right. As a result, a group of 25 families took part in this case to argue for their children’s right to an education in the English language.  As such, the ruling in this case is only a partial victory.  Quebec’s debatable language laws still stand minus Bill 104. Anglophone Canadians and others who express an interest in English instruction are now back to the unenviable and astonishing position of attempting to enrol in English language schools through legal loopholes.  It also leaves the 25 families, and many others, besides in a minimum of a yearlong limbo awaiting the new legislation to take its place.
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