Molière's language will be protected in Quebec

[Amelia]

Molière's language will be protected in Quebec: Liberals

Friday, May 11, 2007

CBC News

Quebec's new language minister says she intends to apply the province's tough language laws using a zero tolerance policy.

"The question of the French language, it's a priority for our government," said Christine St-Pierre, minister responsible for the Charter of the French Language. "It's also a priority for Premier [Jean] Charest."

"There will be zero tolerance on questions of the French language. We will be present, we will monitor and we will apply the law."

St-Pierre issued the dictum in response to a question from Parti Québécois MNA Pierre Curzi, who raised the language question at the national assembly on Thursday.

French remains fragile in Quebec's cosmopolitan areas, especially Montreal, and the government has a role to play to ensure its primacy, said Curzi.

"It's so easy in our environment, which is essentially English, to slide away, and especially in Montreal, where there are so many people coming from everywhere."

Quebec's Charter of the French Language, known as Bill 101, spells out the rules for using French in Quebec public spaces, workplaces and institutions.

[Dr. Shane]

It is a tough issue for them. Change is hard to deal with. At one time, German was almost voted the national language of the United States. Now German-speaking Americans are a very small minority.