Documents on the Controversy Surrounding the Language
of Commercial Signs in Quebec (Bill 178) December 1988
Inside-outside
Dilemma Editorial, Montreal Gazette, December 17, 1988, p. B-2 Assorted
voices are urging Premier Bourassa to adopt the inside-outside formula to replace
the French-only sign law. Mr.
Bourassa can, of course, enact a law to require unilingual French signs outside
an establishment and permit bilingual signs inside. But he should not. The
Supreme Court has ruled that it is an unjustified infringement of fundamental
freedom to ban the use of languages other than French on public signs. Surely
this is not a society that wants to restrict fundamental freedoms. Some
suggest the inside-outside formula would be acceptable because the Supreme Court
said it would be permissible and justified to require that French be "markedly
predominant" on all signs. They argue that keeping the outside face unilingually
French would qualify as "marked predominance," as long as bilingualism
is permitted inside buildings. The
court agreed that the French language needs protection and will always be vulnerable
in North America. But the court also said that "requiring the exclusive use
of French has not been so justified." And it warned that to ban other languages
from Quebec's visage linguistique "does not reflect the reality of
Quebec society." These
are vital points. The inside-outside formula does not satisfy them. After
all, the Supreme Court was considering the cases of five merchants with bilingual
signs, four of them outdoor signs. If the court thought they were unacceptable,
it surely would have said so. Other
people are urging the government to give up all pretense [sic] of recognizing
basic rights. They say Quebec should use the notwithstanding clause to override
the charters of rights. But
notwithstanding clauses are despicable. Their whole purpose is to let governments
do things the charters forbid. Quebec
does need to protect and foster the French fact in Canada. But the court has shown
how to reach that worthy goal without trampling on the rights of non-francophone
Quebecers: requiring French and permitting other languages. Mr.
Bourassa's concern about social peace is understandable. There are some hotheads
in our society. But there is also a large moderate majority. A fair policy on
signs, accompanied by firm prosecution of those who continue to break the law,
and substantial programs to bolster French in the schools and the workplace, would
surely meet with their approval. ©
1999 Claude Bélanger, Marianopolis College |