Point de presse de Mme Nathalie Roy, porte-parole du deuxième groupe d'opposition pour la Charte de la langue française

Version finale

Thursday, May 30, 2013, 15 h

Salle Bernard-Lalonde (1.131), hôtel du Parlement

(Quinze heures deux minutes)

Mme Roy (Montarville): Bonjour tout le monde. Merci d'être là.
Écoutez, aujourd'hui, à l'Assemblée nationale, on vient de voter en faveur du principe du PL n° 14. Alors, on n'a pas changé d'idée depuis la dernière fois où on s'est rencontrés. Nous demeurons cohérents. Nous avons voté pour le principe. Il est très important de dire que nous voulons promouvoir, défendre la langue française au Québec, mais tout en protégeant les droits de la minorité anglophone. C'est extrêmement important, et c'est pour ça que je vous dis qu'il va y avoir beaucoup de travail à faire, parce que nous sommes très sérieux. Nous avons dit à la ministre De Courcy qu'il y avait des choses dans ce projet de loi qui étaient bonnes, parce qu'il y avait certaines problématiques, mais il y a d'autres choses qui ne sont pas bonnes, et qui sont néfastes, et sur lesquelles il faut travailler. On a demandé des amendements, on a demandé des abrogations, et il faudra sérieusement que la ministre nous écoute, sinon nous voterons contre la loi. Donc, il y a beaucoup de travail à faire, et ça va commencer incessamment.
Cela dit, c'est bien important, et je pense que je vais le dire en anglais tout de suite parce qu'il y a beaucoup de nos collègues qui sont de la tribune anglophone actuellement. Alors, vous me permettrez, et je... en anglais, alors... Right now, it's time to talk in English. Excuse my English, it's not perfect, but let me be clear, it's really important that you understand that the Coalition is here to promote and defend the French language while respecting and protecting the rights of our Anglophone minority. That's really important that you understand that.
And that's why, that vote, that's not final what happened today, it's just the beginning. The Minister De Courcy is going to have to work and to change the articles that are unacceptable. Now, avez-vous des questions? C'est bien?

Mme Plante (Caroline): But if you're against so many of the articles, how can you vote for the principle? I mean, is it a logical position to still vote for it in principle...

Mme Roy (Montarville): Yes, it is. Yes, it is because there are really good articles in that PL 14, let's say, for example, regarding the immigration. It's really, really important to help at that level because...And we know that the problem is mostly in Montréal. So we have to put more money in it, we have to help our immigrants, to teach them French. That's really important and that's our main concern, and there are article in that law, in that bill on that subject and that's really important. So we have... there are some, like I said, good things in the PL 14, but there are bad things that we want to see changed, because it's important to work.
You know, it's easy to take it all and to throw it by the window. No. We're going to have to work and we'll see. We'll see if the Minister is in good faith. We'll see.

Mme Montgomery (Angelica): ...Mme De Courcy has said... time now to work on amendments. She has not said whether amendments will be presented all in once or whether it will happen one at the time during the commission. She hasn't said when or how discussions will take place. How would you like this process to work? How would you like these negotiations to proceed?

Mme Roy (Montarville): Well, first of all, like I said, we are really serious and we said there is a certain amount of articles that absolutely has to be changed. What form is it going to take? I don't know. We haven't seen any proposal, any amendment yet. But they have to do the first work, and then we'll look at it. And if those amendments protect the rights of our Anglophone minority, it's going to be OK. But we'll see. We'll see, and that, we don't know. That's why I'm telling you we are here to work and we want...
Let's say for the businesses, for example, the businesses. That's not all along Québec... all around Québec problem, you know? You go in Rimouski, Rivière-du-Loup, all those places, everybody speaks French, everybody is being served in French. So there is no problem with someone who wouldn't serve you in French, for instance. But that law imposes to every commerce, every business across Québec to have a new burden, a new administrative burden. And that, we don't want that. So, you see, it's to protect the Francophone businesses, to protect the Anglophone minority. So they're going to have to move. And the agenda, how it's going to move or be, I don't know now. But the first thing is that we have to see something and, right now, we have nothing, nothing in our hands. I read The Gazette like you. I did not receive anything.

Mme Montgomery (Angelica): Yes. Am I understanding you, that you would like some advanced notice before the detailed study start, about what amendments are going to be presented?

Mme Roy (Montarville): Well, to tell you the truth, today, after we did the vote on the...

Une voix: Le principe.

Mme Roy (Montarville): Le principe, merci. The principle, thank you. After we did vote on the principle, we received a phone call from the office of Mrs. De Courcy saying: OK. We are going to have to fix a meeting to start to discuss, see what... But I don't know when it's going to be. We're looking at the agenda right now.

Mme Montgomery (Angelica): The fact that it's passed in principle, what kind of message do you think that's sending to Anglophones who are very worried about this?

Mme Roy (Montarville): The thing is that the Anglophones... First of all, we are working to protect their rights. So we'll see if the Parti québécois is really inclusive, you know, because we want to protect the rights of the Anglophones and we want to promote the French language. And we say it's possible. We all live together. That's what we want to do. But, please, do it in peace, do it respectfully. So we want to see if they are able to do that, because we are able to do that. At the Coalition avenir Québec, we respect French, we respect Anglophones, and that's really important to us.
So we want to show the Government that we want to work, but it has to include everybody and to respect the rights of everybody. And, if they don't, I'm telling you again, we're going to vote again that bill... against that bill. That's clear. They're going to have to move, they're going have to improve it and they're going to have to respect what we're saying here and we said like six or seven weeks ago.

Le Modérateur: Shawn Lyons.

M. Lyons (Shawn): How much faith do you have that the Parti québécois is going to be able to make enough changes on all these big parts of Bill 14 to get your support for the final vote? It's going to be an uphill battle.

Mme Roy (Montarville): It's going to be a battle. Of course, it's going to be, but the thing is that: Who runs the PQ? Is it the Minister who said that she's in good faith, or is it the caribous, or is it Jean-François Lisée? We don't know right now. So, we're going to see.

Le Modérateur: Max Harrold.

M. Harrold (Max): Yes. I'd like to ask you the Government's plan announced today for at-home elder care. I know this is coming out of left field, but we did want to get a reaction.

Mme Roy (Montarville): The thing is that I did not follow that press conference. I don't know the content, but we have someone for you who can help you really, really well.

M. Harrold (Max): Let me just ask you on Bill 14 then, if... for those Anglophones today who feel betrayed by your party... and this is... that wouldn't be something new, because you voted with this bill that everyone hates, what have you got say to them?

Mme Roy (Montarville): Well, you know what? I thought... I did speak many Anglophones, and they are... they start to understand what we do. They start to understand that we are doing politics, and we want to improve a law, and we are doing politics, and we want to see if the PQ is able to listen to the other parties, because they are a minority government, and we want... they understand. The Anglophone community, the people to whom I speak, they understand that we are working together, the Coalition, to see if the PQ is going to move, and do something, or is the PQ run by caribous. And that's doing the same thing...

Mme Plante (Caroline): But that's not being on the fence?

Mme Roy (Montarville): No, that's not. That's not, because if they want... That's their law. The PL 14 is their law. If they want it to be inclusive for everybody, they are going to have to show it and they are going to have to have good faith. And we are working, and we say: Don't touch the rights of the Anglophone minority. We'll see what they'll do. That's really important. Is that clear? C'est correct? O.K. Merci.

(Fin à 15 h 11)