Some fear for Outaouais economy in wake of Bill 96

Somebusinesses and communities in the Outaouaissay they're willing to comply withcontroversialBill 96 French-language amendments but warn that doing so may come at a cost.

Bill 96proposes to revoke anyQuebec municipality's bilingual status where fewer than 50 per cent of citizens have English as a mother tongue.

Jurisdictions without this status must offer servicesonly in French, with few exceptions.

• CBC EXPLAINS |What's in Quebec's new law to protect the French language?

The bill has some Quebec business leaders worried about the potential impacts on the province's economy. Dozens havesigned an open letter that was published online Friday, asking the government to put the law on hold.

"It's a good thing to protect French ...I'm all for it," said NicolasRoy, a Gatineau, Que., businessman and the CEO of Epsi, a firm specializing in human resources management.

While he unreservedly supports the principles and foundations of the law, Roy still signed the letter.

"I think we should better consider the impact such a bill could have on small and medium enterprise," he said.

A 'very heavy' burden

The bill's strict language requirements makeQuebec a less attractive place to work compared to other provinces, Roy said. It'salsoa barrier to recruiting people from outside Canada, he added, as they'd need to successfully learn French within six months of immigrating.

As Quebec businessesalready struggling to attract skilled labour stare down a potential recession, Roy said these kinds of obstacles may have devastating impacts.

"It's a burden [that's] very heavy," Roy said.

In the western Quebec community ofMansfield-et-Pontefract, the bill could affect the many English-speaking tourists and cottagers that arrive each spring and summer, said Mayor Sandra Armstrong.

The small municipality about 120 kilometres northwest of Ottawa is "already a French-speaking community" and operates almost entirely in French, Armstrong said. Sodo its neighbours,Fort-Coulonge and le-du-Grand-Calumet, she added.

Still, providing services to English-speaking tourists is crucial to the local economy, Armstrong said.

"For now, we will continue to serve them in French or English to help them out. Then we'll see what the government is really asking each municipality about that," Armstrong said.

"There's no hiding the fact we have to respect that law."

Minister promises to supportbusinesses

Quebec Immigration andLabour MinisterJean Boulet was in the Outaouais Friday, and when asked about the impact of Bill 96 on small and medium-sized local businesses, said they'd be supported while the law is applied.

The government would support thetransition to French-only workplaces through Francisation Qubec,Boulet said, which willdeliverFrench-language learning services.

Francisation Qubec is set totake effectonJune 1, 2023.

Still,Bill 96 may "go too far in a constitutional sense," said Gabriel Poliquin, a lawyer with Ottawa law firmOlthuis Van Ert.

The bill isasignificant modification of Quebec's Charter of the French Language, Poliquin said, and aspects of thecharter have been previously challenged in court.

Poliquin said that he expects Bill 96 to be challenged as well, possiblyunder the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms or the Constitution Act.

"Even if certain provisions of the law survive those legal challenges, it doesn't necessarily mean they are good ideas or practical ideas from a public policy standpoint," said Poliquin.

Changesto laws related to Bill 96laws willgradually come into effect between now and2025.