G&M 13 mars 1999

But Canadians with a well-grounded sense of history should find no difficulty in supporting the cause behind Bill 101, the French-language law passed by the Parti QuÈbÈcois government in 1977. The survival and vitality of French-language culture in North America has been at the core of Canada's existence for centuries. Quebec is obviously the centre of this fact. The French language thrives in Quebec, or dies in North America.

Bill 101 went too far in the cause. It included unnecessarily punitive and exclusionary provisions that infringed too much on freedom of expression and repressed other cultural traditions in Quebec. It spawned ridiculous confrontations between "language police" and citizens wanting to send their children to English-language schools, or post a store sign in Chinese or English, along with French.

It sent a strong message to non-francophones that they were unwelcome in Quebec, which contributed to the emigration of many of the best and brightest, and the discouragement of many others to locate in Quebec. It contributed much to the climate where Jacques Parizeau could blame "money and the ethnic vote" for the defeat of his referendum in 1995.

Bill 101 was altered eventually to allow other languages on commercial signs, but much of its hostility to non-francophones remains in education and business. Vigorous policy support for French should not require the illiberal regulation of minorities, and Mr. Laurin's legacy will be strengthened when Quebec demonstrates the confidence to allow them more room to live in their own languages, within the French-speaking world of Quebec.