Bill 101: News Report

When the Parti Québécois was elected in 1976, Camille Laurin, the Minister of Cultural Development, proposed a bill that defined French as the official language of Québec and framed fundamental language rights. The Charter of the French Language, which has also been called Bill 101, has been amended six times since it was passed in 1977. The charter states that its purpose is “to make of French the language of Government and the Law, as well as the normal and everyday language of work, instruction, communication, commerce, and business” (Bill 101 Preamble). Bill 101 stipulated that all children must attend French schools, the language of the workplace would be come French, and that all signs must be in French. Bill 101 is seen as a master …show more content…
The newsperson gives background information on what Bill 101 entails and why its supporters feel that it is so necessary. He also goes into the effects that Québec has already seen occur, such as businesses relocating and other outcomes that can be expected to occur in the near future. He includes the feelings that various Québec residents have such as the desire to stay in order to protest, the desire to sue the government, and the desire to keep their schools open to all (Bazar). He also includes the feelings of some of the Francophone residents that do not support the bill because they do not feel there is anything wrong with a bilingual province. The reporter states that the decision of that day does not necessarily represent the consensus of the Québec people, but it shows the Parti Québecois’ vision of the way they would like things to be in a nation they’d like to build (Bazar). With Québec’s Anglophone economic dominance, the party believes that it is their responsibility to make changes to this historically French province in order to even the playing field for Francophone Québec