Chris Selley: This isn’t normal. Other bilingual (and multilingual) countries don’t think this way. They don’t make laws like Bill 96
The bargain Quebec nationalists claim to be offering immigrants is that if they learn and speak French, and otherwise agree to abide by Quebec’s cultural mores — which are subject to change without notice; no hijabs, please — then all are welcome. If that’s true, no one should worry about “mother tongue” any more than they worry about race, because these are immutable characteristics.
This is true in several other larger municipalities affected by Bill 96 as well. Among those with 5,000 or more residents , nine of 11 reported identical or higher knowledge of French in 2021 than did in 2006. Why on earth would the government target such a community? This ought to be good news! It’s proof that a minority language can survive and thrive even in a bilingual or multilingual world, which is something just about everyone else in the world takes for granted. Here, hardly anyone in provincial or federal politics even dares even say it out loud.
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