Editing Charter of the French Language (section)

{{Short description|1977 law in Quebec, Canada}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2017}}{{italic title}}
The '''''Charter of the French Language''''' ({{langx|fr|link=|Charte de la langue française}}, {{IPA|fr|ʃaʁt də la lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz|pron}}), also known as '''Bill 101''' ({{langx|fr|link=no|Loi 101}}, {{IPA|fr|lwa sɑ̃ œ̃|pron}}), is a law in the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian province]] of [[Quebec]] defining [[French language in Canada|French]], the language of the majority of the population, as the [[official language]] of the provincial government. It is the central piece of legislation that forms Quebec's [[language policy]] and one of the three principle [[statutory law|statutes]] upon which the cohesion of [[Culture of Quebec|Quebec's society]] is based, along with the ''[[Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms]]'' and the ''[[Civil Code of Quebec]]''. The charter also protects the [[Indigenous peoples in Quebec|Indigenous languages in Quebec]].<ref>[http://www.cslf.gouv.qc.ca/bibliotheque-virtuelle/publication-html/?tx_iggcpplus_pi4%5bfile%5d=publications/pubb133/b133ch3.html "Les langues autochthones du Québec"] (consulted April 2021)</ref>

First introduced by [[Camille Laurin]], the Minister of Cultural Development under the first [[Parti Québécois]] government of Premier [[René Lévesque]], it was passed by the [[National Assembly of Quebec|National Assembly]] and received [[royal assent]] on August 26, 1977. The charter's provisions expanded upon the 1974 ''[[Official Language Act (Quebec)|Official Language Act]]'' (Bill 22), which was enacted during the tenure of Premier [[Robert Bourassa]]'s [[Parti libéral du Québec|Liberal]] government to make French the official language of Quebec. Prior to 1974, Quebec had no official language<ref>[https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/csj-sjc/franc/enviro/1.html Environmental Scan: Access to Justice in Both Official Languages: Chapter 1: History of Language Rights in Canada], Government of Canada, 2022-08-25</ref> and was subject only to the requirements on the use of English and French contained in article 133 of the ''[[British North America Act, 1867]]''.<ref>"[[s:British North America Act 1867#133.|British North America Act, 1867]]", in ''Wikisource''. Retrieved April 24, 2008</ref> The charter has been amended more than six times since 1977, each of which met with controversy in Quebec.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/debate-on-pq-language-bill-to-begin/article9582744/ | location=Toronto | work=The Globe and Mail | title=Debate on PQ language bill to begin | date=March 11, 2013}}</ref> Most recently, in 2022, the charter was amended (also covered in this article) by the adoption of the '''''Act respecting French, the Official and Common Language of Quebec''''', commonly known as '''Bill 96'''.<ref>[https://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/travaux-parlementaires/projets-loi/projet-loi-96-42-1.html?appelant=MC Bill 96, An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec], Assemblée Nationale du Québec, June 1, 2022</ref>

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