00:00The Charter of the French Language, commonly known as Bill 101, is a Quebec law that makes French the official language of Quebec.
00:06the mother tongue of the majority of the province's population, and the sole official language of Quebec.
00:11Proposed by the Minister of Cultural Development, Camille Lorrain, the law was adopted by the National Assembly on August 26.
00:171977 under the mandate of the first Parti Québécois government led by René Lévesque.
00:22The law repeals and replaces the Official Language Act, Bill 22, adopted under the government's mandate
00:29by Robert Bourassa in July 1974.
00:32The adoption of the charter settles a debate in Quebec between those who support free choice between French and
00:37English to those of French unilingualism, essentially making French the usual language of instruction, of
00:43commerce, labor and public administration.
00:46Challenged several times in court, the Charter of the French Language has undergone numerous modifications since its adoption.
00:53relating in particular to commercial advertising and admission to English schools.
00:56Subtitling by Radio-Canada
