Only 22% of Quebecers believe that Bill 96, which the Legault government passed, is sufficient to reverse the decline of French in Quebec, according to a recent Léger poll. But a third of respondents had no opinion on the matter.
The survey conducted on behalf of the Parti Québécois reveals that a very small percentage of the population believes that the reform of the Language Charter is strong enough to curb the decline of French on Quebec territory.
"There, we have a Léger poll which clearly shows that Quebeckers also think that the CAQ does not go far enough and lacks courage in terms of protecting French," says PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
He believes that with this law, the Prime Minister is “accomplice of a possible Louisianation of Quebec”.
However, almost a third of those surveyed, or 34%, did not know how to answer this question. The proportion is high.
However, the language debate has been raging for months in Quebec.
Emotional leader
It is nevertheless a balm for the leader of the sovereignist formation, following an emotional week and difficult national polls.
During the unveiling of the Jacques Parizeau monument on Wednesday at the National Assembly, the former Premier of Quebec Lucien Bouchard spoke of the PQ in the past tense.
Wednesday morning, St-Pierre Plamondon also answered questions from journalists, his throat tied with emotion.
“I got emotional. To the question: will one day it be too late [for the follow-up of the nation and independence]? And I had to say yes,” he said.
“I find it very hard to understand the absence of a lack of responsibility for our destiny. »
Support of Francophones
With this sounding, the PQ wanted to breathe new life into the measures it proposes for the survival of French and which are absent from Law 96.
“Specifically among Francophones, there is very strong support for the five structuring measures,” says St-Pierre Plamondon.
For example, even before the distribution of the undecided, nearly 69% of Francophones believe that the Charter of the French language (Bill 101) must be applied to CEGEPs.
Law 96 makes it mandatory to take three French courses or three French as a second language courses. It also caps the number of places in English-speaking CEGEPs.
The PQ voted against the law, outright calling for the application of Law 101 at the college level.
Nearly 75% of Francophones are in favor of setting specific targets and indicators on the situation of French and 66% are in favor of making French proficiency a mandatory requirement for all economic immigrants before their arrival.
"For us, it's an important signal. We must not give up,” said St-Pierre Plamondon.
“We must continue to demand measures that guarantee our linguistic and cultural sustainability. »
the important culture
Moreover, in culture, 66% of respondents are in favor of the establishment of a Quebec content promotion office as proposed by the PSPP formation.
The latter would have the mandate to promote Quebec productions on major global digital television platforms, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.
The goal would be to increase the number of Quebec TV series and films that can be found there. Among Francophones, this support climbs to 71%.
In your opinion, is Bill 96 recently adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec to protect the French language sufficient to reverse the trend of decline of French in Quebec?
Yes: 22%No: 44%Don't know: 34%
Are you in favor or opposed to the following measures to protect and promote French in Quebec?
That a Québec content promotion office be set up, which would have the mandate to promote Québec productions on major global digital television platforms (Netflix, HBO, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, etc.)?
For: 62% Against: 22% Don't know: 16%
That the evolution of the situation of French in Quebec be measured by the establishment of specific targets and indicators?
For: 62% Against: 21% Don't know: 17%
That proficiency in French be a mandatory requirement for all economic immigrants before their arrival?
For: 55% Against: 31% Don't know: 15%
That the Charter of the French language (law 101) be applied to CEGEPs?
For: 55% Against: 30% Don't know: 15%
That bilingual city status be withdrawn from cities with less than 30% English speakers in their population?
For: 43% Against: 35% Don't know: 23%
Methodology: Web survey conducted by Léger on behalf of the Parti Québécois from May 27 to 29, 2022 among 1,004 Quebecers who can speak French or English. It is not possible to calculate a margin of error on a sample drawn from a panel, but for comparison, the maximum margin of error for a sample of 1004 respondents is plus or minus 3%, and this 19 times out of 20.
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