The number of signatories to an open letter opposing the law, first published in June, has more than tripled in recent days. The letter warns that the legislation, known as Bill 96, could “do enormous damage” to the province’s economy. Business leaders say they are concerned about tightening language laws in Quebec that are deterring prospective employees from wanting to work in the province. The letter highlights an element of Bill 96 that says immigrants will have to communicate with government agencies in French after six months in Quebec. Experts said it is almost impossible become fluent in a language within six months. Until now, some of the province’s French language requirements for businesses only applied to companies with more than 50 employees. However, under Bill 96, these rules will also apply to smaller companies with at least 25 employees. François Legault, who is the leader of the CAQ and is seeking re-election as prime minister, defended the law on Wednesday morning on the campaign trail. He said Bill 96 gives businesses three years to comply with all provisions of the law. “They will have time to adjust,” Legault said, adding that protecting the French was the priority, in addition to creating wealth for the province. He cited statistics showing that just over half of Montrealers work in French. “We have to be careful about the language of people working in Montreal,” Legault said. When the letter was published in June by the Canadian Innovators Council, more than 35 tech executives had signed it. By Wednesday, that number had risen to 159. The executives — many in the province’s growing tech sector — include Carl Goyette of GURU energy drinks, Lloyd Segal, president and CEO of Repair Therapeutics, a Montreal-based biotech company developing cancer drugs, Louis Têtu of of software company Coveo Solutions and Germain Lalonde of telecommunications company Exfo. Quebec Premier François Legault speaks to the media at a press conference Thursday, July 21, 2022, in Montreal. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press) Pierre-Philippe Lortie, director of government affairs for CCI Quebec, said the letter appears to have exploited a concern about some of the specific measures in the law. “We agree with the goal and spirit of Bill 96, which is to increase the use of French in the private sector,” Lortie said. He said the six-month clause and the one-year delay before the creation of Francisation Québec, the government agency expected to oversee businesses’ compliance with the law, are two key areas of the law that have caused concern among CCI members.
Hard to recruit
Lortie added that Bill 96 could prompt companies to focus their growth efforts in other markets amid labor shortages in Quebec. “We’re hearing that it’s really hard to find highly skilled talent, and with this law it can create another layer of insecurity just to find that talent,” he said. Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois also commented on the letter, saying his party would remove the six-month clause if elected. Before the law was passed in May, Nadeau-Dubois and other members of Québec Solidaire had expressed concerns about the legislation — but ended up voting in favor of it. Québec Solidaire co-representative Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois launched his party’s campaign in Sherbrooke Sunday, along with his co-representative Manon Massé. (Matt D’Amours/CBC) “We’re going to fix the problems in this Bill 96,” Nadeau-Dubois told reporters Wednesday, calling the six-month clause “totally unworkable.” “And frankly there is a lack of compassion for the people who choose Quebec, who want to build Quebec with us, who want to learn French, but we have to give them time to do it. Nadeau-Dubois said his party would also reimburse the cost of learning the language and focus on providing on-the-job lessons. “You can’t ask an immigrant who has two jobs, who works nine to five, six or seven days a week, to go take a French class on a Wednesday night. That’s not realistic,” he said.
title: “Quebec Businesses Step Up Opposition To Bill 96 Ahead Of Provincial Election Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-28” author: “Julian Nagy”
The number of signatories to an open letter opposing the law, first published in June, has more than tripled in recent days. The letter warns that the legislation, known as Bill 96, could “do enormous damage” to the province’s economy. Business leaders say they are concerned about tightening language laws in Quebec that are deterring prospective employees from wanting to work in the province. The letter highlights an element of Bill 96 that says immigrants will have to communicate with government agencies in French after six months in Quebec. Experts said it is almost impossible become fluent in a language within six months. Until now, some of the province’s French language requirements for businesses only applied to companies with more than 50 employees. However, under Bill 96, these rules will also apply to smaller companies with at least 25 employees. François Legault, who is the leader of the CAQ and is seeking re-election as prime minister, defended the law on Wednesday morning on the campaign trail. He said Bill 96 gives businesses three years to comply with all provisions of the law. “They will have time to adjust,” Legault said, adding that protecting the French was the priority, in addition to creating wealth for the province. He cited statistics showing that just over half of Montrealers work in French. “We have to be careful about the language of people working in Montreal,” Legault said. When the letter was published in June by the Canadian Innovators Council, more than 35 tech executives had signed it. By Wednesday, that number had risen to 159. The executives — many in the province’s growing tech sector — include Carl Goyette of GURU energy drinks, Lloyd Segal, president and CEO of Repair Therapeutics, a Montreal-based biotech company developing cancer drugs, Louis Têtu of of software company Coveo Solutions and Germain Lalonde of telecommunications company Exfo. Quebec Premier François Legault speaks to the media at a press conference Thursday, July 21, 2022, in Montreal. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press) Pierre-Philippe Lortie, director of government affairs for CCI Quebec, said the letter appears to have exploited a concern about some of the specific measures in the law. “We agree with the goal and spirit of Bill 96, which is to increase the use of French in the private sector,” Lortie said. He said the six-month clause and the one-year delay before the creation of Francisation Québec, the government agency expected to oversee businesses’ compliance with the law, are two key areas of the law that have caused concern among CCI members.
Hard to recruit
Lortie added that Bill 96 could prompt companies to focus their growth efforts in other markets amid labor shortages in Quebec. “We’re hearing that it’s really hard to find highly skilled talent, and with this law it can create another layer of insecurity just to find that talent,” he said. Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois also commented on the letter, saying his party would remove the six-month clause if elected. Before the law was passed in May, Nadeau-Dubois and other members of Québec Solidaire had expressed concerns about the legislation — but ended up voting in favor of it. Québec Solidaire co-representative Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois launched his party’s campaign in Sherbrooke Sunday, along with his co-representative Manon Massé. (Matt D’Amours/CBC) “We’re going to fix the problems in this Bill 96,” Nadeau-Dubois told reporters Wednesday, calling the six-month clause “totally unworkable.” “And frankly there is a lack of compassion for the people who choose Quebec, who want to build Quebec with us, who want to learn French, but we have to give them time to do it. Nadeau-Dubois said his party would also reimburse the cost of learning the language and focus on providing on-the-job lessons. “You can’t ask an immigrant who has two jobs, who works nine to five, six or seven days a week, to go take a French class on a Wednesday night. That’s not realistic,” he said.
title: “Quebec Businesses Step Up Opposition To Bill 96 Ahead Of Provincial Election Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-18” author: “Micheal Mckinley”
The number of signatories to an open letter opposing the law, first published in June, has more than tripled in recent days. The letter warns that the legislation, known as Bill 96, could “do enormous damage” to the province’s economy. Business leaders say they are concerned about tightening language laws in Quebec that are deterring prospective employees from wanting to work in the province. The letter highlights an element of Bill 96 that says immigrants will have to communicate with government agencies in French after six months in Quebec. Experts said it is almost impossible become fluent in a language within six months. Until now, some of the province’s French language requirements for businesses only applied to companies with more than 50 employees. However, under Bill 96, these rules will also apply to smaller companies with at least 25 employees. François Legault, who is the leader of the CAQ and is seeking re-election as prime minister, defended the law on Wednesday morning on the campaign trail. He said Bill 96 gives businesses three years to comply with all provisions of the law. “They will have time to adjust,” Legault said, adding that protecting the French was the priority, in addition to creating wealth for the province. He cited statistics showing that just over half of Montrealers work in French. “We have to be careful about the language of people working in Montreal,” Legault said. When the letter was published in June by the Canadian Innovators Council, more than 35 tech executives had signed it. By Wednesday, that number had risen to 159. The executives — many in the province’s growing tech sector — include Carl Goyette of GURU energy drinks, Lloyd Segal, president and CEO of Repair Therapeutics, a Montreal-based biotech company developing cancer drugs, Louis Têtu of of software company Coveo Solutions and Germain Lalonde of telecommunications company Exfo. Quebec Premier François Legault speaks to the media at a press conference Thursday, July 21, 2022, in Montreal. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press) Pierre-Philippe Lortie, director of government affairs for CCI Quebec, said the letter appears to have exploited a concern about some of the specific measures in the law. “We agree with the goal and spirit of Bill 96, which is to increase the use of French in the private sector,” Lortie said. He said the six-month clause and the one-year delay before the creation of Francisation Québec, the government agency expected to oversee businesses’ compliance with the law, are two key areas of the law that have caused concern among CCI members.
Hard to recruit
Lortie added that Bill 96 could prompt companies to focus their growth efforts in other markets amid labor shortages in Quebec. “We’re hearing that it’s really hard to find highly skilled talent, and with this law it can create another layer of insecurity just to find that talent,” he said. Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois also commented on the letter, saying his party would remove the six-month clause if elected. Before the law was passed in May, Nadeau-Dubois and other members of Québec Solidaire had expressed concerns about the legislation — but ended up voting in favor of it. Québec Solidaire co-representative Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois launched his party’s campaign in Sherbrooke Sunday, along with his co-representative Manon Massé. (Matt D’Amours/CBC) “We’re going to fix the problems in this Bill 96,” Nadeau-Dubois told reporters Wednesday, calling the six-month clause “totally unworkable.” “And frankly there is a lack of compassion for the people who choose Quebec, who want to build Quebec with us, who want to learn French, but we have to give them time to do it. Nadeau-Dubois said his party would also reimburse the cost of learning the language and focus on providing on-the-job lessons. “You can’t ask an immigrant who has two jobs, who works nine to five, six or seven days a week, to go take a French class on a Wednesday night. That’s not realistic,” he said.
title: “Quebec Businesses Step Up Opposition To Bill 96 Ahead Of Provincial Election Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-13” author: “Richard Cano”
The number of signatories to an open letter opposing the law, first published in June, has more than tripled in recent days. The letter warns that the legislation, known as Bill 96, could “do enormous damage” to the province’s economy. Business leaders say they are concerned about tightening language laws in Quebec that are deterring prospective employees from wanting to work in the province. The letter highlights an element of Bill 96 that says immigrants will have to communicate with government agencies in French after six months in Quebec. Experts said it is almost impossible become fluent in a language within six months. Until now, some of the province’s French language requirements for businesses only applied to companies with more than 50 employees. However, under Bill 96, these rules will also apply to smaller companies with at least 25 employees. François Legault, who is the leader of the CAQ and is seeking re-election as prime minister, defended the law on Wednesday morning on the campaign trail. He said Bill 96 gives businesses three years to comply with all provisions of the law. “They will have time to adjust,” Legault said, adding that protecting the French was the priority, in addition to creating wealth for the province. He cited statistics showing that just over half of Montrealers work in French. “We have to be careful about the language of people working in Montreal,” Legault said. When the letter was published in June by the Canadian Innovators Council, more than 35 tech executives had signed it. By Wednesday, that number had risen to 159. The executives — many in the province’s growing tech sector — include Carl Goyette of GURU energy drinks, Lloyd Segal, president and CEO of Repair Therapeutics, a Montreal-based biotech company developing cancer drugs, Louis Têtu of of software company Coveo Solutions and Germain Lalonde of telecommunications company Exfo. Quebec Premier François Legault speaks to the media at a press conference Thursday, July 21, 2022, in Montreal. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press) Pierre-Philippe Lortie, director of government affairs for CCI Quebec, said the letter appears to have exploited a concern about some of the specific measures in the law. “We agree with the goal and spirit of Bill 96, which is to increase the use of French in the private sector,” Lortie said. He said the six-month clause and the one-year delay before the creation of Francisation Québec, the government agency expected to oversee businesses’ compliance with the law, are two key areas of the law that have caused concern among CCI members.
Hard to recruit
Lortie added that Bill 96 could prompt companies to focus their growth efforts in other markets amid labor shortages in Quebec. “We’re hearing that it’s really hard to find highly skilled talent, and with this law it can create another layer of insecurity just to find that talent,” he said. Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois also commented on the letter, saying his party would remove the six-month clause if elected. Before the law was passed in May, Nadeau-Dubois and other members of Québec Solidaire had expressed concerns about the legislation — but ended up voting in favor of it. Québec Solidaire co-representative Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois launched his party’s campaign in Sherbrooke Sunday, along with his co-representative Manon Massé. (Matt D’Amours/CBC) “We’re going to fix the problems in this Bill 96,” Nadeau-Dubois told reporters Wednesday, calling the six-month clause “totally unworkable.” “And frankly there is a lack of compassion for the people who choose Quebec, who want to build Quebec with us, who want to learn French, but we have to give them time to do it. Nadeau-Dubois said his party would also reimburse the cost of learning the language and focus on providing on-the-job lessons. “You can’t ask an immigrant who has two jobs, who works nine to five, six or seven days a week, to go take a French class on a Wednesday night. That’s not realistic,” he said.
