Bill 96 Legal Challenge

Pour la version française, veuillez cliquer ici.

This is a fundraiser for constitutional litigation challenging Quebec's Bill 96. By donating, you will help fund court challenges that will protect the rights of all Quebeckers. The first $100,000 raised will help fund Mitchell v Québec, which challenges the provisions of Bill 96 that restrict the use of English documents in Québec's courts. Any additional funds raised after that will be distributed to other constitutional challenges against Bill 96 that satisfy the following criteria, as explained below: (1) they challenge parts of Bill 96 that infringe the constitutional rights of Quebeckers; (2) they have a reasonable chance of success; (3) they are respectful of the role of the French language in Quebec and its culture; (4) they are not already funded from other sources.

What are Quebeckers doing about Bill 96 and how can I help?

All Quebeckers should be worried about Bill 96. Whether you speak English, French, both, or neither, Bill 96 takes away your freedom of choice and restricts the opportunities that are open to you in Quebec.

Quebeckers are mobilizing in many ways to oppose Bill 96. This includes using the legal system to protect their rights:

Constitutional challenges are generally long and involve significant costs. Appeals can last years. The entirety of your donation will be used to pay legal fees for the lawyers fighting these challenges, as well as the out-of-pocket costs like court fees, printing, travel, expert witness fees, legal research costs, cost awards against the losing party, etc. The only deductions are those made by GoFundMe itself or payment processing/bank fees to transfer the money to the lawyers' trust accounts.

How will the funds be used?

The first $100,000 raised will help fund Mitchell v Quebec, which challenges the provisions of Bill 96 that restrict the use of English documents in Quebec's courts. Any additional funds raised in excess of this $100,000 will be distributed to other challenges to Bill 96 that fulfill the following criteria: (1) they challenge parts of Bill 96 that infringe the constitutional rights of Quebeckers; (2) they have a reasonable chance of success; (3) they are respectful of the role of the French language in Quebec and its culture. These criteria will be applied by a committee to be formed composed of law professors, lawyers, and cultural figures.

There is an English version and a French version of this GoFundMe. We're counting them together towards the goal, so if they each raise $75,000, then we will be at $150,000 and the extra $50,000 will be donated to other challenges. The same applies to any other funds that are donated to us from other sources.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Où puis-je accéder à la version française de cette collecte de fonds et lire les documents pertinents en français?

Ici: https://www.gofundme.com/f/recours-juridique-contre-projet-de-loi-96.

2. How much should I donate?

If you are a lawyer, we encourage you to “donate your rate” if you can afford to do so. If you’re a concerned citizen or business owner, any amount that you can afford to give will help, whether it’s $10, $20, $100 or $500. We also encourage you to share this GoFundMepage with people in your network, and to encourage them to donate.

3. Are you a registered charity and will I get a tax receipt?

Unfortunately, the timelines involved did not allow us to obtain registered charity status, so we cannot issue tax receipts.

4. How did you arrive at the $300,000 goal?

Our fundraising goal has two components. The first $100,000 is based on our professional judgment as lawyers about how much will be needed to bring our Mitchell v Québec all the way through the legal system (in addition to the contributions by the lawyers involved that have already been made). All funds above that amount are earmarked for use in other challenges, as explained above.

5. How will you colaborate with new challenges to Bill 96?

We would like to collaborate with any new challenges, and share the donations raised here with them. As new challenges are filed, the funding committee will collaborate with the individuals and organizations behind those challenges to work out a fundraising agreement. Before sharing funds, the committee will of course verify that the new challenges have a reasonable chance of success, that they are respectful of the Francophone majority in this province, and they are not already funded from other sources. We will update this page to provide information about the new challenges.

6. Where can I find more information about the legal challenges I'm funding?

Please contact us to obtain our press kit, which includes copies of the legal documents filed in court by the various challenges, plus media coverage, contact information for each challenge, and other relevant information.

7. Are you affiliated with [organization or political party]?

This fundraiser is being organized by the plaintiffs in Mitchell v Quebec. We are an independent group of lawyers. We have no affiliation with any organization or political party. We act on our own behalf, and are not speaking for our law firms or anyone other than ourselves.

8. Who are the plaintiffs involved in Mitchell v Quebec?

We are Doug Mitchell, Michael Shortt, Shannon Snow, Frederique Lissoir, Adam Sternthal, and 10096547 Canada Inc. The individual plaintiffs are all Montreal-based lawyers and members of the Quebec bar. All funds raised for Mitchell v Quebec will go to the trust accounts of our lawyers (Doyon Avocats).