Bill 101 provisions protect workers from 'retaliatory measures' over French language issues
Dozens of Quebecers have filed complaints with the provincial government alleging that their employers are penalizing them because they have little or no command of a language other than French, according to a report.
Between the time new Bill 101 provisions took effect in 2022 and June 2024, a total of 33 locals have filed complaints alleging employers took reprisals against them over their lack of fluency in another language, reported the Montreal Gazette, citing data it obtained via an access-to-information request.
Meanwhile, five others lodged complaints accusing their employers of discriminating against them or psychologically harassing them over their inability to speak a language other than French.
In 2022, the Quebec government introduced Bill 101 provisions that allow workers to file complaints about alleged discrimination and “psychological harassment” in the workplace. They expanded the complaint procedure to protect workers with little or no command of a language other than French.
Workers can file a complaint if they are singled out because they are unilingual francophones or have not mastered a language other than French, for example, according to the Montreal Gazette report.
The complaint rules were added to Bill 101 or the Charter of the French Language, in June 2022, when the National Assembly passed Bill 96.
The use of the French language in the workplace has seen a decline as more Quebec workers incorporate English in their everyday lives, according to a report released earlier this year.
CNESST’s handling of complaints
The Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) handles the complaints the Quebecers file against their employer relating to the French language.
Of the 38 total complaints:
- 12 were withdrawn by the complainants
- Seven were settled amicably
- Seven were deemed inadmissible
- Six were transferred to the Tribunal Administratif du Québec, a quasi-judicial tribunal
- Five are still being processed
- One was closed because the complainant was not reachable.
Bill 96 expanded employer responsibilities and worker rights, according to the Montreal Gazette.
The changes aimed to give workers the “right to a working environment free from discrimination or harassment linked to the use of French or the claim of a right arising from the Charter of the French Language,” the Coalition Avenir Québec government said, according to the report.
In 2022, Simon Jolin-Barrette, then French language minister, told a National Assembly committee the updates would protect workers from “retaliatory measures.”
Bill 96 also allowed anonymous grievances, in part to encourage whistleblowers to come forward, and this has led to a surge in the number of complaints, according to the Montreal Gazette.
In 2023-24, there were 9,125 complaints, up 45% from two years earlier when complainants had to provide their names, according to the report, citing data obtained through an access request with the Office québécois de la langue française.
Last year, Quebec introduced strict new requirements mandating nearly all immigrants to Quebec to be able to speak and write in French.
