Quebec English Language Case Study

In the beginning of the 21st century, the year 2000 to be exact language laws in Quebec were still ever changing nevertheless French had established its dominance and many businesses complied with bill 101 and it soon became the norm. This however would all change when a couple merchants named Gwen Simpson and Wally Hoffman, owners of a small antique store located in Montreal were hit with a massive $500 fine due to violating the language law because the English and French words on their sign were the same size. They challenged the fine and took it to court where a 199 ruling determined that the province of Quebec could not continue to impose restrictions on the use of languages other than French on commercial signs unless the province was capable of proving the fragility of the French language in Quebec society. The Province appealed the decision and the Quebec Superior Court overturned that decision in April 2000. The court defended its ruling by citing that since Quebec was a territory of predominantly French speaking people on an English speaking continent that meant it had a unique geographical situation. Gwen Simpson and Wally Hoffman …show more content…
The English language still maintains a noticeable presence place in the province, despite claims to the contrary. According to statistics Canada approximately 25% of elementary and secondary school students in Quebec receive their instruction in English. In addition 40% of University students in Montreal attend an English university for example McGill has a enrolment of 29,729 students , Concordia has 25 000 ,U.de M. & affiliated schools have 47 000 and UQAM has 39 000. On top of that 2 out of the 12 daily newspapers in Quebec are published in English and 19% of magazines and other periodicals published in Quebec are in English. There are also 15 English radio stations in Quebec and 35% of all movies shown in theaters are in