Editing Official Language Act (Quebec)

{{Short description|Act of Parliament of Quebec}}
{{Distinguish|Official Languages Act (Canada)}}
{{Infobox legislation
|short_title         = Official Language Act
|legislature         = 
|image               = Coat of arms of Quebec.svg
|imagesize           = 
|imagealt            = 
|caption             = 
|long_title          = 
|citation            = SQ 1974, c. 6
|enacted_by          = [[National Assembly of Quebec]]
|date_enacted        = 
|date_passed         = 
|enacted_by2         = 
|date_enacted2       = 
|date_passed2        = 
|date_assented       = 
|royal_assent        = July 31, 1974
|date_commenced      = 
|bill                = 
|bill_citation       = Bill 22 (1974)
|bill_date           = 
|introduced_by       = 
|1st_reading         = 
|2nd_reading         = 
|3rd_reading         = 
|committee_report    = 
|bill2               = 
|bill_citation2      = 
|bill_date2          = 
|introduced_by2      = 
|1st_reading2        = 
|2nd_reading2        = 
|3rd_reading2        = 
|committee_report2   = 
|white_paper         = 
|amendments          = 
|repeals             = 
|repealed_by         = [[Charter of the French Language]], SQ 1977, c. C-11, s. 224
|related_legislation = 
|summary             = 
|keywords            = 
|status              = Repealed
}}
{{italic title|text=Official Language Act}}
The '''''Official Language Act''''' of 1974<ref>''Official Language Act'', S.Q. 1974, s. 6.</ref> ({{langx|fr|Loi sur la langue officielle}}), also known as '''Bill 22''', was an act of the [[National Assembly of Quebec]], commissioned by Premier [[Robert Bourassa]], which made [[French language|French]] the sole [[official language]] of [[Quebec]], Canada. Provincial desire for the ''Official Language Act'' came after the repeal of [[Bill 63]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Hudon|first=R|title=Bill 22|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/bill-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614205151/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/bill-22|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 14, 2012|work=The Canadian Encyclopedia|publisher=Historica-Dominion|access-date=13 February 2013}}</ref> It was ultimately supplanted by the ''[[Charter of the French Language]]'' (also known as Bill 101) in 1977, which imposed French as the only language for advertising and education (with many exceptions).<ref>''[http://www.canlii.org/en/qc/laws/stat/rsq-c-c-11/latest/rsq-c-c-11.html Charter of the French Language]'', RSQ, c. C-11.</ref>

== Contents  ==

The legislation was drafted in an attempt to follow the recommendations of the [[Commission of Inquiry on the Situation of the French Language and Linguistic Rights in Quebec]]. The act made French the official language in a number of areas:<ref>{{cite web|title=Speaking out: Quebec's debate over language laws|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/bill-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614205151/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/bill-22|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 14, 2012|work=CBC News|publisher=CBC News|access-date=13 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Charter of the French Language, RSQ, c C-11|url=http://www.canlii.org/en/qc/laws/stat/rsq-c-c-11/latest/rsq-c-c-11.html|work=CanLii|publisher=Canadian Legal Information Institute|access-date=13 February 2013}}</ref>

*Language of services (had to be primarily offered in French)
*Language of commercial signing (the use of French was required)
*Language of labour relations and business (businesses wanting to deal with the state had to apply for francization programs, French had to be included in all labels and communications, and products and services needed French marketing materials).
*Language of instruction (English-language public school was restricted to children who had a "sufficient" knowledge of this language)
*Language of legislation and justice (priority was given to French texts in case of ambiguity).

== Opposition ==
That English was an official language in Quebec as well was declared on July 19, 1974, by [[McGill University]] law faculty's most expert counsellors, disputing Bill 22. The testifiers were Dean [[F. R. Scott|Frank R. Scott]]; [[John Peters Humphrey]], the chief planner of the [[United Nations]]' [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]];  [[Irwin Cotler]]; and four additional legal teachers:<ref>{{cite news|last=Johnson|first=William|title=English-speaking Quebecers must wake up and defend their rights|url=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/editorial/story.html?id=9f05bde7-f404-4065-9d97-b1c68fdb264a&p=1|access-date=27 January 2012|newspaper=Montreal Gazette|date=31 August 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924012716/http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/editorial/story.html?id=9f05bde7-f404-4065-9d97-b1c68fdb264a&p=1|archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>

<blockquote>Section 1, which provides that French is 'the official language of the province of Quebec,' is misleading in that it suggests that English is not also an official language in Quebec, which it is by virtue of Section 133 of the ''[[BNA Act]]'' and the federal ''[[Official Languages Act (Canada)|Official Languages Act]]''.&nbsp;... No legislation in the National Assembly proclaiming French the sole official language in the province can affect these bilingual areas protected by the ''BNA Act''.</blockquote>

[[John Ciaccia]] and [[George Springate]] were suspended from the Liberal caucus for almost two months in 1974 for voting with the Opposition when the Robert Bourassa government passed Bill 22.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-longtime-quebec-liberal-john-ciaccia-dies-at-85-2/ |title=Long-time Quebec Liberal John Ciaccia, who was native affairs minister during Oka Crisis, dies at 85 |date=August 8, 2018 |work=The Globe and Mail |agency=The Canadian Press}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Official Languages Act (Canada)|Official Languages Act of Canada]]
* [[Legal dispute over Quebec's language policy]]
* [[Office québécois de la langue française]]
* [[Quiet Revolution]]
* [[Language policy]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041120120718/http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/charte/reperes/Loi_22.pdf Integral text of the Law] (French-English PDF document)
*[http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/charte/reperes/reperes.html Office québécois de la langue française – Repères et jalons historiques] (in French)

[[Category:Quebec nationalism]]
[[Category:Quebec provincial legislation]]
[[Category:Quebec language policy]]
[[Category:1974 in Canadian law]]
[[Category:1974 in Quebec]]
[[Category:Canadian language legislation]]