MONTREAL -- Amid a new push in favour of French—which is garnering a lot of pushback, especially from businesses that are closed for COVID-19—the CAQ’s attitude to English Quebecers has never been under so much scrutiny.
So what does the party’s point man on English think about it?
“Every couple years, every couple of months, there's always an incident with the OQLF. This is not new,” Christopher Skeete told CTV in an interview.
As for the proposed expansion to Bill 101? He says not to start working around it yet.
“The reality, is Bill 101 has been in place since 1977 with no changes to the law,” he said.
“People have strong emotions about Bill 101, but the reality is there's nothing that's changed.”
It’s been just over two years since the CAQ swept to power, and at the time, many English speakers weren’t sure how the party and its leader, now-Premier François Legault, would really handle identity issues, from language to separatism.
A lot of those concerns have disappeared, Skeete says. But his mandate in the party is to bring the voice of English-speakers to the table, and he says it’s not always easy.
“When I speak up at caucus, saying ‘This is the reality of English-speaking Quebecers’ ...it’s amazing the disconnect between the two solitudes that still exists today,” he said.
“And my job is to bridge that gap.”
Watch the video above to see Kelly Greig's full interview with Skeete.
