Bill 96: some Conservative leadership hopefuls say yes, others say no to Quebec language reform
Several of the six aspiring Conservative leaders expressed their opposition to Bill 96 during a French-language debate in Laval on Wednesday night, but others shied away from the opportunity to express their views on the issue.
Brampton, Ont. Mayor Patrick Brown called the ruling CAQ party's reform of the Charter of the French Language "not right" while candidate Scott Aitchison said it was "divisive and wrong."
Roman Baber went the furthest, promising to use "all legal means" to counter the effects of Bill 96 to be sanctioned.
However, the man who is considered the leader of the race, Pierre Poilievre, did not take the opportunity during the official languages segment to speak out against Bill 96. He simply said that the French language was dear to him and that he wanted to promote it.
"Canadians have the right to receive all federal government services in both official languages," he said.
Former Quebec Premier Jean Charest also did not address the issue of Bill 96, recalling that the moderator's question was about bilingualism requirements for senior public servants.
"Those who assume the highest functions of the state must be bilingual, capable, at the very least, of communicating in both languages," Charest argued.
MIGRANTS AT ROXHAM ROAD CROSSING
The candidates had to indicate, in the first minutes of the debate, what they intended to do to curb the irregular arrival of migrants through Roxham Road.
"I am against illegal entries, but at the same time I am for immigration," Poilievre told the moderator, pointing out that his wife is of Venezuelan origin.
He indicated that he intends to conclude agreements with the provinces, if he becomes prime minister, so that the skills of newcomers are recognized within 60 days.
Charest stressed the importance of renegotiating the Safe Third Country Agreement. He later deplored the "too long" delays in the immigration department and said, "We need to clean up the department to make a decisive move."
Brown did not make it clear what he would do about illegal entries. While posing as a candidate for multiculturalism, he claimed to be "against illegal immigration because it makes it harder for people to do it legally."
Once again, Poilievre received a barrage from his opponents for extolling the virtues of cryptocurrency to protect against inflation.
"You're in the potatoes!" anti-abortion candidate Leslyn Lewis threw at him, which immediately triggered laughter in the room.
Charest also criticized Poilievre for his commitment to firing the Governor of the Bank of Canada.
OPPOSING QUEBEC'S BILL 21
Brown unsurprisingly brought up the issue of challenging the Secularism Act, having brought other cities into his financial crusade against the legislation.
He and Charest criticized Poilievre for avoiding indicating whether he would intervene in the challenge to Bill 21. Charest promised to intervene when the law is reviewed by the Supreme Court of Canada.
The debate is also intended to show the candidates' intentions on the environment and energy, trade and foreign affairs.
Wednesday night's debate is the last of those announced by the Conservative Party of Canada.
The candidates have until the end of next week to convince supporters to buy party membership cards. This will allow supporters to vote for the person they want to succeed Erin O'Toole.
The winner of the race, elected by preferential ballot, will be known on Sept. 10.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 25, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
OPP's mandatory alcohol screening during traffic stops 'not acceptable': CCLA
A spike in impaired driving-related collisions has caused Ontario’s provincial police to begin enforcing mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) at all traffic stops in the Greater Toronto Area -- a move one civil rights group says is ‘not acceptable.’
Maple Leafs down Bruins 2-1 to force Game 7
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday to force Game 7 in their first-round series.
Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call on plan to buy affair story
Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president.
Southern Alberta store broken into by burly black bear
Staff at a small southern Alberta office supply store were shocked to find someone had broken into the business last week, but they were even more confused when they discovered the culprit was a bear.
Captain sentenced to 4 years for criminal negligence in fiery deaths of 34 aboard scuba boat
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in custody and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel.
New scam targets Canada Carbon Rebate recipients
Fake text message and email campaigns trying to get money and information out of unsuspecting Canadian taxpayers have started circulating, just months after the federal government rebranded the carbon tax rebate the Canada Carbon Rebate.