Anglophone rights lawyer Brent Tyler lost his court challenge of Bill 101 Wednesday morning. He was trying to defend several business owners who had signs or websites where French was not predominant enough.
The 24 small businesses were prosecuted between 1998 and 2001 for breaking language laws because their signs or websites were not predominantly French. The defendants were trying to prove that French is not endangered in Quebec.
Tyler told CJAD earlier that these business owners were defending their basic rights.
"My clients didn't pick this fight,” said Tyler. “They're defending themselves and they're raising the Charter of Rights, two basic arguments; freedom of expression and the right not to be discriminated against on the basis of language."
Tyler was hoping a favourable decisison would have brought changes to Bill 101, but the lawyers for the provincial government said the French language needs to be protected.
Tyler also said his clients could have paid the fines and conformed to the law but it was about more than that.
"If it was a question of cost-benefit, than they were better off complying, you pay the fine, spend the money to comply and life goes on, but for the clients it was a principal issue. They wanted to have their day in court.”
CTV reporter Rob Lurie will have more details soon:
