Liberal leader Charles Milliard has again had to clarify his position on the use of the notwithstanding clause for Bill 96, which strengthens the Charter of the French Language.
He explained that a Liberal government under his leadership would sit down with lawyers from the ministries to determine whether the provision is necessary or not.
“And if necessary, if we need to, in the best interest of the French language in Quebec, we will do it,” he assured at a press conference Monday in Laval.
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The Liberal leader plans to reopen Bill 96 to make additions “among other things, regarding increasing French proficiency among our youth.” He also says he wants to “massively increase” investments in French language courses.
He also wants to remove from the law “the administrative burden on businesses which does not work and the obligation to learn French in six months which is not realistic”.
The Liberal leader took the opportunity to attack his opponents on their use of the notwithstanding clause.
“There’s the CAQ that has been using it without justification, without explanation, for eight years. There’s the Conservative Party of Quebec that mentioned that they were going to use it in every way imaginable for anything and everything without explanation,” he said.
Last Thursday, Charles Milliard said he was “in favour” of maintaining the notwithstanding clause for Bill 96. He was thus breaking with an electoral promise of his party in 2022.
This stance has raised questions among Liberal elected officials. The leader had to call a meeting with his caucus.
The following day, Milliard adjusted his position, stating that he would amend Law 96 and then see if the override provision was still necessary.
The Liberal leader presented his candidate for the Sainte-Rose riding in Laval on Monday.
This is Dr. Cécile Tremblay, who became known to the general public during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This county is currently held by CAQ minister Christopher Skeete.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
