Former Liberal MP Marc Garneau calls anglophone minority rights in Quebec 'a hill to die on'

Former Liberal cabinet minister Marc Garneau, who announced his resignation as a member of Parliament this week, says he views anglophone minority rights in Quebec as “a hill to die on.”

Garneau’s comments on CTV’s Power Play with Vassy Kapelos on Thursday come as the federal government considers opposition amendments to a key piece of legislation Bill C-13.

The bill itself would amend the Official Languages Act to make sure federally-regulated businesses in French-dominant regions of Quebec offer services in French. But the preamble to the bill references the province’s own controversial language law, known as Bill 96, as a model for the protection and promotion of the French language.

Garneau is not shying away from criticizing his own government for the inclusion of Bill 96.

“I've been at it for 14 years where you have to say, is this a hill to die on, is this something you feel so strongly about,” Garneau said. “Because if you don't subscribe to it, then you have to speak up and yes, that's the way I felt about it.”

 “I think that's unacceptable, and that was my point: one is a federal bill, one is a provincial bill - they each have slightly different purposes.”

Garneau spoke with Kapelos the day after he revealed his resignation. The former astronaut, who served as a member of Parliament for 14 years, including seven years in government, gave a farewell address in the House of Commons Wednesday where he said much more unites than divides parliamentarians.

Garneau discusses minority language rights in Quebec in the video at the top of this article.

With files from CTV National News Parliamentary Bureau Reporter Annie Bergeron-Oliver