Language accommodations hurt French, lawyer says

A well-known Quebec lawyer has told provincial hearings on so-called reasonable accommodation for religious minorities that the French language is threatened by linguistic accommodations.

Guy Bertrand said in Quebec City Tuesday that English and multiculturalism are threatening French.

Bertrand said immigrants who come to Quebec must accept the French language and integrate into the French majority.

"No people on earth, no citizens, and dare I say— no commission can remain indifferent or insensitive to the need to protect the French fabric in North America," said the well-known lawyer, who was a founding member of the Parti Québécois in the late 1960s.

"The Québécois nation has to be protected and enhanced through the birth of an independent French state, that will decide alone what kind of accommodations will be made for minorities and immigrants, according to values and principles that are universally recognized," he said in French during his presentation at the Bouchard-Taylor hearings.

Commission co-chair Charles Taylor told Bertrand the hearings are related to religious accommodations for minorities and are not about language. "I don't think that you are talking about the same thing in your comments," he responded.

Bertrand insisted linguistic accommodations are at the heart of the issue, and cited the example of Canadians'captain Saku Koivu, who recently spoke English while addressing a full house of fans at the Bell Centre, even though Montreal is a French-speaking city, he said.

That's an example of the private sector not respecting the linguistic rights of Quebecers as enshrined in the province's Bill 101 on language, Bertrand said.

On Tuesday, the Bouchard-Taylor commission on reasonable accommodation also heard from Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who said Quebecers would be more welcoming of immigrants if they returned to the Catholic fold.

"If Quebecers would be more aware of their own Catholic identity, it would help them to value better, you know, the presence of others and the strong identity of other religious groups," Ouellet told the commission.

He said that religious education in the classroom is a Quebec tradition that should be upheld.

Muslim community seeks more respect

The Quebec City hearings also heard from members of the region's small Muslim community, who spoke out in defence of their practices and rights.

Muslims deserve more respect from old-stock Quebecers, said Papa Camara, a Quebec City resident.

"Every day I hear on the radio and the TV people speaking against Muslims. And that's why I wanted to come here and say to people, 'Stop talking about, against Muslims.' Because we are full citizens, and we want to participate in the country. We are not destroying the country."

Camara told CBC News he is considering leaving Quebec because of the attitudes he encounters.

Public response to the Bouchard-Taylor hearings has been overwhelming, compared to other regions where sometimes fewer than a dozen peoplehave shown up to speak in front of the commission.

More than 470 people asked to make presentations at the Quebec City hearings, necessitating a second public forum, scheduled for Tuesday night.