News
Task Force Submits Brief to National Assembly Committee on Bill 1
Published on November 24, 2025
The Montreal Council of Women stands in solidarity with the Task Force and wholeheartedly supports their tireless efforts on behalf of anglophone and other minority groups, in their ongoing advocacy for the protection and defense of the individual human rights of all citizens. Please find their latest news release below.
NEWS RELEASE: Task Force submits brief to National Assembly Committee on Bill 1
Montreal – A committee of the Task Force on Linguistic Policy has read and analyzed Bill 1, the Government of Quebec’s "Constitution" legislation, and determined it is a threat to the 1.25 million English speaking Quebecers. And it is a threat to Quebec's future in Canada. It says the legislation “sends a clear message to all non-francophones: ‘you do not exist.’”
The brief lays out the concerns of the Task Force and its thousands of members, notably the legislation’s fleeting mention of “Anglophone institutions.” In doing so, “it fails to recognize the enormous contributions of English-speaking Quebecers for three centuries and more.”
The bill places collective rights, secularism and the French language above human rights. This creates an inverted pyramid of rights where the collective supersedes the individual. The brief notes the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights does not recognize collective rights. It begins: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
The brief outlines Bill 1’s Objectives, the Task Force’s objections, legal issues and recommended changes. It refutes Quebec’s claims for self-determination, the ability to hold a referendum with a winning margin of 50 per cent plus one, and says “the contempt for our federal system runs throughout this legislation,” as it refers to Canada as a “loose federation of autonomous states.”
The Task Force concludes Bill 1 “is a radical and unconstitutional blueprint for provincial autonomy. It is a blueprint for a controlled demolition of the existing federal system. It is a direct assault on the legal and constitutional foundations of Canada.” It recommends the legislation “be shelved, amended enormously or thrown in the recycling bin, where it belongs.”
The Task Force on Linguistic Policy is a non-partisan, grassroots organization working for linguistic rights of all Quebecers, but notably those of the non-francophone community. It represents thousands of members and relies on public donations to fund its legal challenges. Since its founding in 2021, the Task Force has organized public meetings and rallies, submitted legal briefs to courts, submitted briefs to the National Assembly and Parliament and held expert panel discussions to oppose both Bill 96 and the use of the Notwithstanding Clause.
Contact: Andrew Caddell, President
Task Force on Linguistic Policy
(514) 869-6434