Latest news with #TALQ
Montreal Gazette
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Opinion: We're unlikely partners with a shared vision of a better Quebec
Op Eds We are unlikely partners. But shared history has brought us together, and a desire to make some history keeps us working together to express a common and powerful desire for a better Quebec. The Mouvement national des Québécoises et Québécois and TALQ (formerly the Quebec Community Groups Network) have been engaging over the past several months, in positive, constructive ways, about how we can, together, build some important bridges and light a path to greater understanding and unity in our wonderful, shared province/nation. It is worth noting that those talks also occurred recently in a convivial dinner on May 19, the Journée nationale des Patriotes. It was a nod to the publicly expressed will of former QCGN president Marlene Jennings, who in a 2023 column in The Gazette argued that National Patriots Day should be more inclusive and refer more fully to the participation of anglophones in the events leading to the 1837-1838 uprising. We agreed that the English-speaking community of today is not the enemy many Québécois still believe it to be. Along with that, we reiterate what we have been saying for many years: The English-speaking community of Quebec is not in itself an existential threat to French in Quebec. At the same time, the anglophones among us need to recognize more fully that their fellow Québécois whose mother tongue is French don't lie awake at night trying to figure out ways to suppress them, their institutions and their constitutional rights. Many of those institutions, by the way, such as hospitals, CEGEPs and universities, serve all Quebecers, regardless of their language. We understand and agree that threats to the French language are serious — but they are more continental or global in origin. They are found in the powerful magnet of American culture — film, television, music, social networks — and its pervasive and seductive presence around the world. We have a shared interest in making our own cultural production easier to discover and to understand, and in so doing contribute to worldwide diversity. We must not make English-speaking Québécois the convenient scapegoat of this difficult problem. We work better as allies to vigorously protect and promote the fundamental language of Quebec, which, we both agree, is French. We both understand and agree that expending more energy on ancient grievances — on either side — is not something that will move us forward. This fledgling collaboration is a leap of faith (if we can say that in a secular society) — c'est un beau risque, for both of us. There are some essential things on which we don't and won't agree. We know this, and we respect each other enough not to try to change hearts and minds. But we can and do agree on the need to recognize and respect each other as fellow, equal citizens with far more in common than we often think. With more shared history than is usually taught or acknowledged, with more shared passion for this special place in the world than many of us realize. Late last year, the outgoing Commissioner of Official Languages, Raymond Théberge, produced a report on this very subject, and pointed out in some detail just how well individual English- and French-speaking Quebecers get along on a daily basis, as they share common concerns, values, interests and needs. Think about it: We wait for the same hours and hours in the emergency room; we drive the same rutted roads; our children go to the same crumbling schools; we both cheer loudly for les Canadiens; and we both take joy from a walk in the woods in Montreal or Les Cantons-de-l'Est. We curse the same snow plows, complain about the same price increases at the SAQ or in the Hydro-Québec bill. We share so many elements of our lives in exactly the same way. We are Quebecers. Nous sommes des Québécois. There are lessons here for us all. Having the courage to work together despite a lengthy and turbulent history is an enormous first step. We are immensely proud to be taking it. This is what happens when we talk. We begin to understand each other more fully, and then we begin to realize we are stronger together than we are as adversaries. Frédéric Lapointe is president of le Mouvement national des Québécoises et Québécois. Eva Ludvig is president of TALQ (formerly the Quebec Community Groups Network).
Montreal Gazette
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Letters: Rights group should stick to defending anglos instead of wooing francophones
Re: ' Anglo-rights association QCGN rebrands as TALQ ' (The Gazette, June 3) With the CAQ government targeting the anglo community in the courts and elsewhere, it seems like the wrong time to blue-wash the QCGN 'to reach out to francophone Quebecers.' I doubt Quebec nationalist politicians will care. Some years ago the EMSB adopted the slogan 'Être bilingue, c'est gagnant!' The CAQ government still wants to abolish English school boards. Perhaps the QCGN should spend less time trying to engage Quebec nationalists and more time defending the community it's supposed to represent. Its budget should be focused on the court battles forced on the anglophone community and forging connections with federal politicians instead of paying consultants for a rebrand. The time for TALQ is over. Pietro Bucci, Rivière-des-Prairies Ramp failure not just an oversight The ramp in Place des Montréalaises designed for cyclists and wheelchairs 'doesn't have a barrier preventing people from falling off and poses a danger,' The Gazette reports. That sounds like not just an oversight, but more like incompetence or workers not doing their job(s). Further, the square will be 'impossible for wheelchairs to use during the repair process.' Mayor Valérie Plante says the work will be completed during the summer. Great, maybe in time for people in wheelchairs to use it in snow and ice? Looks to me like another example of Plante's failures. Bob Vanier, N.D.G. GP blunders are indefensible Mayor Valérie Plante addressed the lack of organization during last year's Grand Prix weekend, saying the city has learned from its errors and will do better this year. What an inadequate and laughable response. Any learning curve had long since passed by the time the police closed access points to Île Notre-Dame, and the fire department forced several restaurants on Peel St. to shut their terrasses. What happened was inexcusable in my view and yet another example of the way Projet Montréal has managed our city. Ian Copnick, Côte-St-Luc Lack of parking hurts merchants Re: ' Hydro work hurts T.M.R. businesses ' (The Gazette, June 2) Retail businesses all over Montreal have been hurt for far too long by never-ending construction projects. What if a mayoral candidate in November's election had the vision and courage to announce a plan to enable better parking options for shoppers patronizing those suffering businesses? Empathetic and business-friendly leadership — what a concept! Barry Beloff, Montreal Students' needs must come first Re: ' Dear Miss Teacher, Why can't I fail too? ' (Opinion, May 31) A thank you to Maïka Forget for bravely sharing her experience with our education system. My two young adults can certainly validate her story. After serving for more than 10 years on my kids' school boards, I could see things had vastly changed since I was in school. Everything was now focused on grades, rankings and competition, which leached the fun of learning out of them. As long as their grades were good and they were impressing teachers, no one seemed to care about the anxiety that was slowly consuming them. We need to invest sufficiently in our education system to serve students, not bureaucrats. Students are not a product; they are people. Karen Bleakley, Dorval Submitting a letter to the editor Letters should be sent by email to letters@ We prioritize letters that respond to, or are inspired by, articles published by The Gazette. If you are responding to a specific article, let us know which one. Letters should be sent uniquely to us. The shorter they are — ideally, fewer than 200 words — the greater the chance of publication. Timing, clarity, factual accuracy and tone are all important, as is whether the writer has something new to add to the conversation. We reserve the right to edit and condense all letters. Care is taken to preserve the core of the writer's argument. Our policy is not to publish anonymous letters, those with pseudonyms or 'open letters' addressed to third parties. Letters are published with the author's full name and city or neighbourhood/borough of residence. Include a phone number and address to help verify identity; these will not be published. We will not indicate to you whether your letter will be published. If it has not been published within 10 days or so, it is not likely to be.
CBC
04-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Quebec English rights group rebrands for its 30th anniversary
Sylvia Martin-Laforge, the director general of what will now be known as TALQ, explains why the Quebec Community Groups Network has adopted a new name — and how it speaks to the group's goal of building stronger bridges with francophones.
CTV News
03-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
English-speaking advocacy group QCGN rebrands as TALQ
The Quebec Community Groups Network is rebranding as TALQ to better reflect its role as an advocate for English-speaking Quebecers. (Source: TALQ) One of the leading advocacy groups for English-speaking Quebecers is rebranding. This week, the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) will become TALQ. A new name, a new website and a fresh look that is more representative of the organization's identity as an English-speaking minority within a French-speaking majority in Quebec were needed, according to director-general Sylvia Martin-Laforge. 'The rebranding of the QCGN has been a few years in the making. We renewed the organization over the last three years, but came to the conclusion that the name the QCGN didn't really represent anymore who the organization was and what we were doing,' Martin-Laforge said in a recent interview. The not-for-profit group has been defending anglophone rights since 1994, when 15 Quebec-based organizations were funded under the federal Official Language Communities Program and brought together by Canadian Heritage, which, 30 years later, continues to fund the organization. TALQ, pronounced 'talk,' is not an abbreviation, but it carries meaning. 'Talking, advocating, living in Quebec. But the word talk is in itself what we want to be known for — talking to our community, talking to the majority community of Quebec, talking to the rest of Canada about the needs, aspirations, priorities of the English-speaking community of Quebec,' she noted. Since Premier François Legault's Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) was elected, the group has stepped up its efforts and taken a more assertive stance against policies that have impacted English-speaking Quebecers, such as Bill 40 and Bill 96. 'I think we have, over the last few years, become more able to articulate common causes with the majority in Quebec. I mean, we are all concerned about health care, we are all concerned about education, we're all concerned about the vehicles for culture in Quebec,' Martin-Laforge said. The group also hopes that the rebrand will lead to better dialogue with French-speaking Quebecers. 'What the majority has to understand, and we will try and make that more evident, is our lens, the lens of the English-speaking Quebec, on health care, education, culture, what does that mean? What does it mean for us, and what are the benefits for social cohesion, economic prosperity in for all Quebecers?' TALQ will be unveiling its new logo during its annual general meeting on Wednesday.
Montreal Gazette
03-06-2025
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
TALQ of the town: Anglo-rights group QCGN rebrands
By The Quebec Community Groups Network is becoming TALQ, a new name for an anglophone advocacy group that has grown more assertive in recent years and now wants to reach out to francophone Quebecers. The old name 'doesn't reflect what we are today and where the community wants to go,' president Eva Ludvig told The Gazette last week as the organization prepared to announce its rebrand on Wednesday. 'We also realize how difficult it is for us to reach the majority here in Quebec — the francophone, monsieur et madame Tout-le-Monde.' The new name 'dispels the 'us vs. them' perception,' she said. 'We celebrate the vibrancy of the English-speaking community in a profoundly French Quebec.' TALQ (pronounced 'talk') is a standalone name and not an abbreviation, the organization says, though a tagline will also be used: 'Talking. Advocating. Living in Québec.' The 'Q' at the end of TALQ is a nod to Quebec. The accent in the province's name — often omitted by English speakers — acknowledges Quebec's French identity. The organization, which did not disclose the cost of the rebranding, is also replacing its orange logo with blue, a colour historically associated with Quebec. The new name is 'English in origin, anchored in Quebec and proud of its bilingual spirit.' Ludvig said the group will remain a strong voice for anglophones while seeking deeper engagement with the francophone majority. 'Talking is as much about being heard as it is about listening,' Ludvig said. Trevor Ham, a consultant on the rebranding project, said the new name will help 'rejuvenate' the brand. 'QCGN is a mouthful, as is Quebec Community Groups Network,' he said. TALQ is a 'conversation starter, it's bridging the gap, an outstretched hand,' Ham said. 'Conversation is something we all share. There's humanity behind conversation. You don't need to take up arms if you can sit down at a table and talk about things and have rational conversations.' A federally funded nonprofit, the QCGN is celebrating its 30th anniversary. It was born in the wake of the October 1995 Quebec referendum. Alliance Quebec, a prominent anglophone rights group, had fallen apart amid internal divisions. To fill the vacuum, several anglophone groups formed the QCGN. It has long been a defender of anglophone rights. In 2014, for example, the organization warned that the Quebec Liberal government's health reform threatened access to English health services. But its advocacy became more assertive after Premier François Legault came to power. Before the 2018 election, Legault, a former Parti Québécois minister who promised not to hold a sovereignty referendum, wooed the anglophone community. Once he took power, many of his Coalition Avenir Québec's laws didn't sit well with English speakers. From banning hijabs and other religious symbols among government employees (Bill 21), to abolishing school boards (Bill 40) and tightening language laws (Bill 96), anglophones felt ignored by the CAQ, Ludvig said. That spurred the QCGN to take a harder line, aggressively denouncing CAQ government policies and defending anglophones' rights, school system and access to health and social services. The more confrontational stance sparked internal turmoil, leading some groups and board members to quit the QCGN in 2019, complaining it was too Montreal-centric. Ludvig, who became president in 2022, said before the CAQ came to power, Quebec was experiencing a period of 'linguistic peace.'. Since then, the Legault government has 'certainly made it more fragile.' She said the organization has a duty to react to CAQ policies. At the same time, it 'tries to demonstrate that we are Quebecers who belong here, and that we are a community that is not apart.' 'We have our values, our history, but we share our history with the rest of Quebecers,' Ludvig said. 'It's often forgotten that together with other Quebecers, we've built this province, not only economically but culturally and in other ways.' She said the anglo community has changed dramatically over 50 years, but myths remain entrenched, including tired clichés that portray the community as 'unilingual rich Westmounters.' She wants to build bridges with francophones by emphasizing areas of agreement. For example, on the CAQ government's new immigrant integration law, Ludvig said the QCGN shares concerns raised by former Parti Québécois ministers Louise Beaudoin and Louise Harel. When the bill was introduced, the two ardent nationalists joined others arguing the law promotes an assimilationist approach by requiring immigrants to adhere to a 'common culture' and placing disproportionate responsibilities on them. 'We have common issues,' Ludvig said, 'but the focus seems to always be on how the community is different — that we're not part of Quebec, we're not real Quebecers — and that's not true.' 'That's where we want to go — (emphasizing) that we have a lot in common with all Quebecers. We need to focus on that rather than on differences or the divisions artificially created by politicians.' The organization is also trying to engage individual Quebecers by opening membership to the general public. About 150 individuals signed up, joining 48 organizational members, a list that includes Catholic Action Montreal, Gay and Grey Montreal, the Morrin Cultural Centre and YES Employment Services. The Department of Canadian Heritage provides the QCGN's core funding — about $1.5 million annually. The federal support stems from the government's obligations under the Official Languages Act to language minority communities. Ottawa funds francophone groups in the rest of Canada. About 1.3 million Quebecers — roughly 15 per cent of the population — speak English as their first official language, Statistics Canada says. 48 groups belong to QCGN Forty-eight organizations are members of the QCGN: Association of English Language Publishers of Quebec Atwater Library Avenues Montreal Black Community Resource Centre Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival Canadian Parents for French Catholic Action Montreal Chez Doris Coasters Association La Fondation Place Coco Contactivity Centre DESTA Black Youth Network English Parents' Committee Association of Quebec English-Speaking Catholic Council Family Resource Centre Fondation Toldos Yakov Yosef Gay and Grey Montreal Hear Entendre Québec Heritage Lower Saint Lawrence Kabir Cultural Centre LEARN Quebec Literacy Quebec Loyola High School Morrin Cultural Centre Phelps Helps Project 10 Quebec 4-H Association Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network Quebec Association of Independent Schools Quebec Board of Black Educators Quebec Community Newspaper Association Quebec Counselling Association Quebec English-language Production Council Quebec Farmers' Association Quebec Federation of Home and School AssociationS Quebec Music Educators Association Queen Elizabeth Health Complex Regional Association of West Quebecers Repercussion Theatre Saint Columba House SEIZE Seniors Action Quebec South Shore Community Partners Network The Concordian Cote des Neiges Black Community Association Townshippers Association Tyndale St-Georges Community Centre YES Employment Services
