Quebec's minister for anglophone relations is promising to address concerns by English-speaking Quebecers that they are neglected and not seen as legitimate by the Quebec government.
The comments are detailed in a report released at a forum with community leaders held at Concordia University today.
Minister Kathleen Weil said she understands that English-speaking Quebecers are making those comments because they feel the government is not listening to them.
Weil said she'll be taking that report as well as the input from the forum into consideration when they draw up an action plan to address concerns about issues such as access to healthcare notably in the regions; better representation in the civil service; keeping English-speaking youth in outlying communities; access to government employment services and program; supporting English-language culture; and French second language support in the workplace.
Another concern was the impact of Bill 101 on the English-speaking community, but Weil said there'd be no changes coming on that front and that they can work within the existing law.
Weil said she'd been speaking with the finance minister who indicated he'd like to have pre-budget consultations with the English-speaking community.
Long-time Anglo rights activist Keith Henderson says there's a lot the Quebec government can do to address concerns by English-speaking Quebecers about issues such as employment, culture, healthcare. #CJAD #polqc pic.twitter.com/8UEG6kCaas
— Shuyee Lee (@sleeCJAD) February 16, 2018
Another concern expressed at the forum was whether the secretariat for relations with English-speaking Quebecers would still be around after this fall's provincial election, especially if the Liberals lose.
Weil said for the Liberal Party, it's a permanent secretariat, hinting that only re-electing them would mean it would continue to exist.
"We've heard from the CAQ that it's not necessarily a permanent structure," said Weil.
Weil said she could not offer a timeline to see any concrete measures but that there could be short-term measures offered by local health and social services agencies for example.