Poll Reveals Bill 101 Further Divided the Province

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Even though the Parti Québécois government has persistently implied that its proposed Quebec charter of values will produce better social cohesion, if any lessons could be learned from enduring antipathies against its previously imposed controversial Quebec charter decades after it became law, it can very well not be true. Hearings over the controversial Quebec charter of values that bans religious symbols in public-service jobs are scheduled to open Tuesday.

A poll conducted by Léger Marketing claims that Quebec’s French-language charter is still perceived as a bone of contention and potential source of division among Quebecers. Reflections on the charter largely differ among diverse language groups, as the poll found that 84 per cent of Quebec francophones and only 33 per cent of non-francophones support the French-language charter, also known as Bill 101. Upon inquiry if they believed the French-language charter helped in improving relations between Quebec’s French-speaking majority and language minorities, only 44 per cent of francophones and 21 per cent of people from other language groups agreed.

Just in last year, there was numerous contentious fines related to Quebec’s language front, as several inspectors cracked down on complaints of using words such as “pasta” and “caffé” on menus, along with hospital employees rapping on the knuckles for speaking Creole during their lunch break. Consequently, the minister responsible for the French-language charter, Diane De Courcy, promised in October that he will implement a seet of rules that will rationalize the process and, ideally, winnow out the more laughable or sensationalist infractions.