CJAD’s Quebec bureau reports today that a leaked internal letter from the CAQ to their riding associations says the party will block most but not all of Bill 14.  The Liberals have already said they won’t support it but the CAQ holds the hammer.  

According to Angelica Montgomery’s report the CAQ will oppose the move to revoke the bilingual status of municipalities if their Anglophone population drops below 50%. "The revocation of bilingual status could be done upon the request of the municipal council," the letter says. The party will also block the move to impose bill 101 on small businesses (those with less than 50 employees) . "For businesses with 26 employees or more, we are not in favour of coercive measures,".  The letter also refers to the requirement that would force English CEGEPs to give preferential access to Anglophones: "We are against the restrictions imposed on Francophone students that would like to register at Anglophone CEGEPs."

However the CAQ will support measures heightening the level of French needed for those applying to immigrate to the province.  They will also support adding "the right to live and work in French'' to Quebec's charter of human rights and freedoms.

A big omission in my opinion is a legal and political point.  The CAQ says nothing about Bill 14's move to change the word "ethnic minorities" to "cultural communities."  Cultural communities do not have the rights ethnic minorities do. 

The CAQ will officially reveal details at a press conference before the bill goes to public hearings on Tuesday.  CJAD will be there and I'll  have more to say then.  As for the public hearings, its all spelled out in plain English on the National Assembly Website.

Photograph by: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson