MONTREAL, June 2 (UPI) -- Quebec is considering legislation to toughen the province's French-favoring language laws in response to a Canadian Supreme Court challenge, officials say.
The proposed bill is Quebec's latest legal attempt to determine who can attend English-language schools in the province, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Wednesday.
Under Quebec's strict language laws, the majority of children in public schools must attend French-language institutions unless they meet a long list of criteria for going to English-language schools.
The Supreme Court overturned a 2002 "school language" law as being "excessive" and unconstitutional, the CBC said.
Quebec Culture Minister Christine St-Pierre introduced the new bill Wednesday setting new rules for admissibility to English public schools in the province.
The new bill also proposes tougher penalties for a wide range of infractions against Quebec's French language charter and amends the province's charter of human rights to proclaim the "primacy" of the French language, the CBC reported.
