Starting with its inflammatory title, your article “Quebec’s War on English: Language Politics Intensify in Canadian Province” contains several misleading and biased statements concerning Québec’s language policies. Adopted by successive governments since the seventies, those policies aim to ensure that the French language flourishes on a continent where some 8 million Francophones cohabit with more than 300 million Anglophones while, at the same time, preserving the rights of Anglophones whose contribution to the development of Québec’s economic, political and cultural development is vital.
Anglo-Quebecers enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the country and have access to a network of English-language medical, educational and social institutions. Thirty-five years after the adoption of Bill 101, the proposed Bill 14 continues to respect the rights of the Anglophone minority while ensuring the vitality of the French language and maintaining the delicate equilibrium between individual and collective rights.
It is absurd to claim that Québec is “at war” against English. The Québec nation promotes inclusiveness and is renowned worldwide for its creativity and economic vitality. Quebecers of all origins are proud of their unique identity. We cordially invite you to visit and see for yourself.
André Boisclair, Québec’s Delegate General to New York