The Legault government's point man on anglo affairs is holding the party line on English signs at the Lachute hospital.
Earlier this month, officials at the hospital removed or covered up the English signage on the hospital's grounds, at the request of the Office Québécois de la Langue Française (OQLF) — above the objections of local mayors, who insisted there was no language controversy to speak of, and that none should have been started.
But later, premier François Legault defended the move, saying Bill 101 was the law of the land, and that it needed to be respected.
In an interview Wednesday morning with CJAD 800's Elias Makos, Christopher Skeete — whose official title is parliamentary assistant to the premier for relations with English-speaking Quebecers — repeated the same line.
"It's the law of the land, so we have no choice but to respect the law of the land," Skeete said.
He insisted, however, that when it comes to quality of care at the hospital, anglophones would not get short-changed there — especially considering that anglos comprise nearly 20 per cent of the region's population.
"[Premier François Legault] was clear — this will not in any way affect the services being given, and that includes services being given in English to citizens of Lachute hospital," he said.
Skeete is also laying some of the blame on the former Couillard government for the controversy, because of its introduction of Bill 10, the hospital reform law in 2015, which he says prompted a new review of the hospital's operations from the OQLF.
"Lest we forget, that this is the result of the Liberals and the changes that they made in [Bill] 10," he said. "From our point of you, they couldn't leave well enough alone, and they triggered a merger of different health services. And from these mergers...resulted in a new evaluation, a new determination and a new assessment from the OQLF.
"This wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for the Liberal meddling in...what was already working in that region."
Skeete told Elias Makos that despite the perception in some circles that the CAQ is hostile to anglophone interests, CAQ MNAs do have a great deal of respect for anglos.
"I've heard nothing but positive feedback from my colleagues, and a willingness to make sure we take into consideration that this is the reality of the English fact in Quebec," Skeete said.