Photo: Mathieu Belanger Archives The Canadian Press The motion affirms “without nuance” that “the strength of the Quebec nation certainly does not lie in bilingualism, but in its distinct character, with its unique culture and in its resolutely French-speaking specificity”.
Michel Saba – The Canadian Press in Ottawa
Published yesterday at 4:54 p.m.
- Quebec
In a vote that garnered the unanimous support of elected officials, the National Assembly “vigorously rejects” the comments of Laval MP from the Liberal Party of Canada Angelo Iacono wanting that Quebec would be stronger if it was an officially bilingual state.
The motion was presented Tuesday by Quebec Minister of the French Language, Jean-François Roberge, jointly with deputies from the Liberal Party of Quebec, Quebec solidaire and the Parti québécois.
The National Assembly also wishes to recall “its rich history, punctuated by bold gestures to defend and ensure the vitality of its only official language, French”.
She also affirms “without nuance” that “the strength of the Quebec nation certainly does not lie in bilingualism, but in its distinct character, with its unique culture and in its resolutely French-speaking specificity”.
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At the end of the vote, where 106 MPs spoke in person or electronically, the Deputy Government House Leader, Éric Caire, requested that a copy of the motion be sent to the House of Commons and to Federal MP Angelo Iacono.
“Disrespectful” remarks
Last Thursday, Mr. Iacono set the fire to the powder by asserting that Quebec would benefit from becoming an officially bilingual province rather than having only French as its official language.
“I believe that Quebec, and I believe that Canada should be a bilingual country, to be stronger and not just be a unilingual French-speaking province, because there you will exclude others who want to learn French,” declared the MP who represents the riding of Alfred-Pellan.
In turn, representatives of the Bloc Québécois, the Conservative Party of Canada and Quebec Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette – the one who led the reform of the Charter of the French Language – denounced these comments, judging them in particular to be disrespectful.
New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province in the country. Quebec has French as its only official language. The other eight provinces of the country have only English as their official language.
With information from Patrice Bergeron, in Quebec