Élections Québec to mail voter information in French only for 1st time in a provincial election
Voters will be able to access English information via QR code
For the first time in a general election, Élections Québec will send voters information documents in French only in order to comply with changes to Quebec's language laws, the agency said in a news release on Tuesday.
Although the documents typically mailed by Élections Québec ahead of voting day will be in French only, they will contain a QR code leading to the agency's English website for voters wishing to access the information in English.
Legislation to protect French and make it the sole language of communication for public institutions became law in 2022.
A spokesperson for Élections Québec says the agency tried to convince the government that some of its communications during an election should be exempt. But those efforts were unsuccessful.
"We are concerned about this change," said Élections Québec spokesperson Julie St-Arnaud-Drolet, adding that the agency will run ads targeted to English speakers on various platforms.
"So we make a lot of efforts to make sure that the information on how to exercise our right to vote will reach every elector from English [and] allophones communities."
Élections Québec says only Indigenous voters and persons declared eligible to receive instruction in English can contact the agency and request to receive information and other services in English.
When asked if some people could ask for documentation in English, St-Arnaud-Drolet said the short duration of an election period doesn’t allow the agency to send documents in English to those who request it.
Élections Québec says voters should receive their provincial election guide and notice of entry — documents detailing where and how to vote — no later than the week of Sept. 14.
Reminder cards will be mailed out for the week of Sept. 28.
The election is set for Oct. 5.
Samples of the French-language documentation that will be sent to electors by Élections Québec in the coming weeks. (Submitted by Élections Québec)
Group urging Élections Québec to reconsider
Eva Ludvig, the president of TALQ, a coalition of English-speaking groups TALQ, says needing to use a QR code to access information about the voting process is, for many, a "disincentive to vote."
She says her organization has written to Élections Québec and asked it to reverse this decision.
When asked about Élections Québec's plan to run targeted ads for English speakers, Ludvig said "it's not enough."
"All Quebecers need to be treated in the same fashion," she said.
She expects a lot of people reach out to her organization, expressing anger and disappointment.
"Those are the things that we hear when people feel they don't have the kind of service and entitlement from Quebec institutions that they should be getting," she said.
"Elections are fundamental in democracy."
Government should not be 'this petty,' advocate says
Ruth Pelletier, the founder of Seniors Action Quebec, a non-profit organization that promotes the interest of English-speaking seniors in the province, says the need to use a QR code to access voter information in English serves as a barrier.
"I cannot believe that when we're trying to build bridges, we've got so many day-to-day major issues to be dealing with, with the world state of affairs, that we have to be this petty," Pelletier said.
She said ''we all agree that French is the majority language" as well as the language of work and that many anglophones — as well as their children and grandchildren — are fluently bilingual.
"But surely to goodness, our government can do better to make a gesture towards our community," she said.
When asked what was her initial reaction to the announcement from Élections Quebec, Pelletier used three words: "Shock, dismay and discouraged."
"Voting is a democratic right that everybody has, of a legal age and it should be made easy, not harder," Pelletier added.
CBC reached the Ministry for the French Language but did not hear back by the time of publication.
