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Equality Party (Quebec)
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Equality Party (Quebec)
The Equality Party (French: Parti Égalité) was a political party in Quebec, Canada, that promoted the use of English in Quebec on an equal basis with French. Four Equality Party members were elected to Quebec's National Assembly in 1989, as part of an anglophone reaction to changes made by the governing Liberals to Quebec's language law. The party had no success in subsequent elections, and stopped organizing after the 2003 Quebec election.
The party was formed in 1989 as a reaction to then-Premier Robert Bourassa invoking the "Notwithstanding clause" of the Canadian constitution to override a Supreme Court ruling overturning parts of the Charter of the French Language (commonly known as "Bill 101"). The court ruling would have allowed languages other than French to appear on store signs and outdoor advertising; the government instead allowed other languages only on small signs inside shops. Another issue that fed Equality Party support was the Quebec Liberal Party's forcing anglophone Members of the Quebec National Assembly (MNAs) to condemn a report from the Official Languages Commissioner suggesting Quebec anglophones felt "humiliated" by laws such as Bill 101.
The Equality Party's platform called for equality of both languages (French and English) in Quebec, opposing Bill 101 which made French the sole official language of Quebec, imposed restrictions on the use of English on public signs, and required children to attend school in French unless one of their parents went to school in English in Canada. The Equality Party drew virtually all of its support from elements of Quebec's anglophone minority, and only ran candidates in electoral districts with very high anglophone populations.
The party first came to prominence in the 1989 general election, when it won four seats on Montreal Island in the National Assembly with 3.7% of the popular vote. Along with its then-sister party, the Unity Party (which ran candidates outside the Montreal Island), it won 4.7% of the provincial popular vote. The winning candidates were Gordon Atkinson, Neil Cameron, Richard Holden and party leader Robert Libman, who won popular votes ranging from 41 percent to 58 percent in their respective ridings.
The party did not receive official party status in Quebec's National Assembly, being eight members short of the required twelve necessary for recognition, nor had they received 20% of the popular vote which would have otherwise qualified them for official status. The Liberals and Parti Quebecois agreed that the Equality Party caucus would receive some of the privileges of an "official party", including having their members' seats in the National Assembly placed together and office space allocated close to each other, as well as some research funding; however, they were not allocated a guaranteed number of questions in the National Assembly's daily Question Period, meaning that their opportunity to speak was left to the Speaker's discretion. (This arrangement was repeated in later elections when Action démocratique du Québec won fewer seats in the National Assembly than required for official status.)
The four members took an active role in National Assembly debates, most notably when Party leader Robert Libman made headlines by using his parliamentary privilege to reveal the details of confidential, money-losing contracts signed between Hydro-Québec and some of Quebec's aluminum producers.
The party voted against Bill 150, a law providing for a referendum on sovereignty for Quebec (which was later cancelled in favour of a referendum on the Charlottetown Accord).
The Unity Party merged with the Equality Party on May 7, 1990, increasing the party's membership to what the party reported as 16,000. The party's published financial statements, however, reported that only $7,795 in membership dues were collected in 1990, down 75% from 1989 and enough to account for only 1,559 dues-paying members.
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Equality Party (Quebec)
The Equality Party (French: Parti Égalité) was a political party in Quebec, Canada, that promoted the use of English in Quebec on an equal basis with French. Four Equality Party members were elected to Quebec's National Assembly in 1989, as part of an anglophone reaction to changes made by the governing Liberals to Quebec's language law. The party had no success in subsequent elections, and stopped organizing after the 2003 Quebec election.
The party was formed in 1989 as a reaction to then-Premier Robert Bourassa invoking the "Notwithstanding clause" of the Canadian constitution to override a Supreme Court ruling overturning parts of the Charter of the French Language (commonly known as "Bill 101"). The court ruling would have allowed languages other than French to appear on store signs and outdoor advertising; the government instead allowed other languages only on small signs inside shops. Another issue that fed Equality Party support was the Quebec Liberal Party's forcing anglophone Members of the Quebec National Assembly (MNAs) to condemn a report from the Official Languages Commissioner suggesting Quebec anglophones felt "humiliated" by laws such as Bill 101.
The Equality Party's platform called for equality of both languages (French and English) in Quebec, opposing Bill 101 which made French the sole official language of Quebec, imposed restrictions on the use of English on public signs, and required children to attend school in French unless one of their parents went to school in English in Canada. The Equality Party drew virtually all of its support from elements of Quebec's anglophone minority, and only ran candidates in electoral districts with very high anglophone populations.
The party first came to prominence in the 1989 general election, when it won four seats on Montreal Island in the National Assembly with 3.7% of the popular vote. Along with its then-sister party, the Unity Party (which ran candidates outside the Montreal Island), it won 4.7% of the provincial popular vote. The winning candidates were Gordon Atkinson, Neil Cameron, Richard Holden and party leader Robert Libman, who won popular votes ranging from 41 percent to 58 percent in their respective ridings.
The party did not receive official party status in Quebec's National Assembly, being eight members short of the required twelve necessary for recognition, nor had they received 20% of the popular vote which would have otherwise qualified them for official status. The Liberals and Parti Quebecois agreed that the Equality Party caucus would receive some of the privileges of an "official party", including having their members' seats in the National Assembly placed together and office space allocated close to each other, as well as some research funding; however, they were not allocated a guaranteed number of questions in the National Assembly's daily Question Period, meaning that their opportunity to speak was left to the Speaker's discretion. (This arrangement was repeated in later elections when Action démocratique du Québec won fewer seats in the National Assembly than required for official status.)
The four members took an active role in National Assembly debates, most notably when Party leader Robert Libman made headlines by using his parliamentary privilege to reveal the details of confidential, money-losing contracts signed between Hydro-Québec and some of Quebec's aluminum producers.
The party voted against Bill 150, a law providing for a referendum on sovereignty for Quebec (which was later cancelled in favour of a referendum on the Charlottetown Accord).
The Unity Party merged with the Equality Party on May 7, 1990, increasing the party's membership to what the party reported as 16,000. The party's published financial statements, however, reported that only $7,795 in membership dues were collected in 1990, down 75% from 1989 and enough to account for only 1,559 dues-paying members.