English Montreal School Board denies Quebec nationhood, sparks Bloc's outrage
A controversial English Montreal School Board document that denies the existence of the Quebec nation sparked outrage from the Bloc Québécois Tuesday.
The Bloc changed its election campaign game plan Tuesday morning specifically to respond to the document.
The school board wants to challenge the Francois Legault CAQ government's Bill 96 (An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Quebec). The EMSB criticizes it for "unilaterally rewriting the constitution to recognize Quebec as a nation where the only language is French."
The board is asking the federal government to refer the matter to the Supreme Court for a ruling on its legality.
Bloc leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, therefore, moved his daily press conference to the Supreme Court.
"Quebec is not a 'nation,'" the EMSB statement reads. "It never has been... Calling oneself something does not make it so and Quebec's intelligentsia is deliberately misusing the word "nation," so as to imply a reality that exists only in their self-mirage. The only precise word to use regarding Quebec's reality is 'province.'"
- Read more: Legault calls EMSB 'radical group' for denying Quebec nationhood; board chair pays political price
The Bloc leader saw this as an "insult."
The House of Commons has recognized the Quebec nation in a motion.
"The English Montreal School Board is attacking a motion supported by 281 out of 338 MPs," Blanchet said.
He is asking his opponents, Liberal Justin Trudeau and Conservative Erin O'Toole, to formally commit not to challenge the Legault government's eventual legislation if either of them form the next federal government.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 7, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.