Townshippers’ Association submits brief to Bill 21 Consultation

Townshippers' Association submits brief to Bill 21 Consultation

SHERBROOKE, May 8^th, 2019 – Townshippers’ Association has submitted a brief as part of the public consultations for Bill 21, An Act respecting the laicity of the State. It is our considered opinion that Bill 21 is not a measure that will enhance the values and personal freedoms already enshrined in both the Canadian and Quebec Charters of Rights and Freedoms; its adoption and the application of Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as a work around against any potential charter challenges will only serve to deepen divisions among Quebec residents and increase the isolation of minorities.

Townshippers’ Association deplores that only one voice representative of Quebec’s English-speaking community, the QESBA, has been invited to present as a witness at the public consultations that began this week.   According to President Gerald Cutting, “the perception is that our community has been blocked from adding its voice to this most important public debate.  Despite a concerted effort on our part to meet with local Members of the National Assembly to request that at the very least one other organization with a mandate to represent the diversity of Quebec’s English-speaking community be invited, all doors remain closed”.  Cutting continued, “given the significance of the legislation in question to minorities across the province, this exclusion is not at all reassuring regarding the government’s orientations moving forward.”

Copies of the Association’s brief can be found online at Townshippers.org/publications in both official languages.

About Townshippers’ Association

Townshippers’ Association is a non-profit, non-partisan community organization working on behalf of the Eastern Township’s English-speaking community, since 1979. Connect online at Townshippers.org or contact Townshippers’ in Sherbrooke at 100 – 257 Queen St. 819-566-5717, toll free: 1-866-566-5717 or in Lac-Brome at 3-584 Knowlton Rd. 450-242-4421, toll free: 1-877-242-4421.

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Source:
Rachel Hunting, Executive Director, Townshippers’ Association.
819 566-5717 (toll free 1-866-566-5717) dg@townshippers.org