LETTER

LETTRE

The CAQ's refusal to exempt First Nations?

 

The Canadian Party of Quebec (CaPQ) is dismayed by the Legault government’s attitude towards Quebec’s First Nations, by refusing to exempt them from Bill 96's requirement to study French in English CEGEPS.
    Contrary to what Indigenous Affairs Minister Ian Lafrenière and Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette have said, there is precedent for exempting native peoples from provincial laws. The 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement  accords the Cree, Inuit and Naskapi nations such exemptions from the Charter of the French Language.
The Canadian Party will not deny indigenous justice.  There is much to repair in our relationships, but we want them to know that at least one Quebec provincial party is willing and able to listen.
Colin Standish, CaPQ
Montréal