The business community, employers and commercial organizations must make their contribution in order to protect French, the CAQ government believes, while Bill 96 should be adopted before the summer recess.
Protecting French, our common language, will require efforts from everyone, including companies and chambers of commerce. “It is a collective responsibility,” Minister Simon Jolin Barrett’s office said in a written statement sent to register.
This clarification comes at a time when the Chamber of Commerce of Montreal (CCMM) believes that promoting the Charter of the French Language, a major project of the CAQ government, is making businessmen anxious.
The specter of exodus
According to an article in The Canadian Press, many organizations, such as the CCMM, believe the law could harm Quebec’s economy and cause a new exodus of businesses.
When Bill 101 was passed in 1977, the companies decided to leave Quebec. The most famous case is that of Sunlife, who moved her home to Toronto.
Called to explain her remarks, the CCMM was not available yesterday to comment on the file. However, the organization issued a press statement claiming that it supports “the spirit and objectives of the bill.”
QMI’s photo by Mario Beauregard
Simon Jolin Barrett, Minister
However, the Chamber claims to have reservations about the bill, particularly with regard to “certain provisions that do not adequately take into account the corporate realities”.
The bill provides for franchising of small and medium-sized companies with 25 to 49 employees. Previously, this requirement was aimed at those with 50 or more workers.
Another article requires employers to take all “necessary means” to avoid imposing bilingualism in order to obtain or retain a position.
CCMM has come under fire for inviting Air Canada’s captain, Michael Russo, an Anglophone monolingual speaker, to its platform last November.
The air carrier is also one of the sponsors of the organisation, as well as the Canadian national, which has also been denounced in recent weeks due to the omnipresent presence of English.
In the past, Simon Jolin Barrett and Chamber CEO Michel Leblanc have had heated debates about the bill, with the minister accusing the president of “corporate intimidation”.
join NewspaperAnother chamber of commerce, the Chamber of Quebec, confirmed that its members had “no concern” at this time regarding Bill 96.
CFIB is afraid of papers
But another organisation, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), is disappointed with the process and believes the bill will impose more burdens and costs on small and medium businesses.
We are not against France and we protect it. But we require a lot of paperwork from companies with 25 employees and reduce their deadlines. “We think it is very difficult for SMEs, especially in the context of labor shortages,” said Francois Vincent, vice president of the organization.
