Brief Regarding the General Consultation and Public Hearings on Bill 14 : An Act to Amend the Charter of the French Language, the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and Other Legislative Provisions

The purpose of this brief is to highlight the potential impacts that the proposed Bill 14 could have on the minority English-speaking community of the Greater Quebec City region. As the preeminent interest group representing English-speakers in the Quebec City region, VEQ has carefully analyzed all the modifications included in the proposed Bill 14 and has consulted its membership, community and many of its key partners in order to present this comprehensive evaluation of the impacts that Bill 14 could have on our community. It is our opinion that Bill 14, if adopted in its present form, will have several negative consequences on the vitality of our community and on the capacity of English speakers to continue to be contributing citizens of our region. In addition, we sincerely believe that Bill 14 will also have a real negative impact on the capacity of our entire region to attract and retain English-speaking immigrants and migrants which will directly affect the economic prosperity of the Quebec City region.