Judge orders Élections Québec to prepare voter reminder cards in French and English | CBC News
Agency to be exempted from part of the Charter of the French Language for 10 days
A Quebec civil court judge says Élections Québec's plan to mail French-only voting information documents this year would infringe on the right to vote of English-speakers in the province.
Judge Sylvain Lussier ordered Élections Québec to prepare election reminder cards in English and in French, in a judgment issued Wednesday morning. The agency had announced earlier this month that, for the first time in a general election, it would only mail French-language documents to comply with the province's language laws.
"The status of French is not restricted by the permission to inform English-speaking voters in their own language," Lussier wrote in his analysis.
The court was asked to grant a provisional interlocutory injunction and exempt the provincial agency from a section of Quebec's Charter of the French Language that makes French the only language of communication for public institutions.
In his decision, Lussier said he partially accepted the provisional interlocutory injunction, granting it for a period of 10 days.
Geoffrey Chambers is the plaintiff in the case. He's the former president of the Quebec Community Groups Network, known today as the TALQ.
Quebec won't reverse course on French-only voter info mailout ahead of provincial election
Élections Québec mails out three different documents to voters ahead of provincial elections: an election guide, a notice of entry and a reminder card.
The court said ordering Élections Québec to produce and mail an English version of the first two documents at this stage was “unrealistic and extremely costly.”
For now, the judge said he can only order the agency to prepare the reminder cards. Since the mail rollout for those documents falls outside the 10-day injunction period, another judicial process will be needed to order the actual mailing of the documents.
The reminder cards will include a list of candidates in the voter’s riding as well as details on where and when to vote. Quebecers head to the polls on Oct. 5.
Dive deeper
- Agency to be exempted from part of the Charter of the French Language for 10 days
- A Quebec civil court judge says Élections Québec's plan to mail French-only voting information documents this year would infringe on the right to vote of English-speakers in the province.
- Judge Sylvain Lussier ordered Élections Québec to prepare election reminder cards in English and in French, in a judgment issued Wednesday morning. The agency had announced earlier this month that, for the first time in a general election,
- "The status of French is not restricted by the permission to inform English-speaking voters in their own language," Lussier wrote in his analysis.
- The court was asked to grant a provisional interlocutory injunction and exempt the provincial agency from a section of Quebec's Charter of the French Language that makes French the only language of communication for public institutions.
More for you
