A Quebec civil court judge has ruled that sending voting information documents only in French would violate the voting rights of English speakers in the province. Judge Sylvain Lussier ordered Elections Quebec to provide election reminder cards in English and French. Elections Quebec had previously announced it would mail only French-language documents for the upcoming general election to comply with language laws, prompting the court’s intervention.
Judge Lussier emphasized that informing English-speaking voters in their language does not diminish the status of French. The court was asked to grant a provisional interlocutory injunction to exempt the agency from Quebec’s French Language Charter, which mandates French as the sole language for public institutions. The judge partially accepted the injunction, allowing it for a 10-day period.
Geoffrey Chambers, the former president of the Quebec Community Groups Network, initiated the legal action. Elections Quebec typically sends out three documents before elections: an election guide, a notice of entry, and a reminder card. The court deemed producing English versions of the first two documents at this stage as unrealistic and costly. However, the judge mandated the agency to prepare and mail English reminder cards, as they are critical for voter information.
Since the mailing process for the reminder cards extends beyond the 10-day injunction period, further legal proceedings will be required to ensure the distribution of the English documents. The reminder cards will contain details on candidates in the voter’s riding and voting specifics for the upcoming election on October 5.
In his decision, Judge Lussier highlighted that many English-speaking seniors would struggle to vote without understandable information. He cited a past election incident where a miscounted vote in Terrebonne led to result nullification. Lussier questioned whether it was in the public interest to deny English-speaking Quebecers their traditional right to receive election information in English.
Elections Quebec had unsuccessfully lobbied to send basic voting information in both languages. Responding to the backlash, Premier Christine Fréchette stated that English-speaking voters could access necessary information online and that their rights were being upheld. However, Judge Lussier expressed doubts about the adequacy of these alternatives in providing comprehensive voting details to all Anglophones in Quebec.