A group of Quebec residents will go to court to demand that Mary Simon's appointment as Governor General be annulled because she does not speak French fluently.

The group, led by historian Frédéric Bastien, submitted a request to the Quebec Superior Court this week to issue an interpretive ruling stating that Simon's nomination violates the Charter provisions that declare Canada bilingual.

The former candidate for the leadership of the Parti Québécois says that choosing a Governor General who does not speak one of the country's official languages is an insult to French speakers and a sign that bilingualism is unimportant.

In an interview on Thursday, he said, "It sends a bad message to French Canadians that they are second-class citizens, and that official bilingualism is something unimportant, that we can get rid of as needed."

His group relies on a legal precedent in New Brunswick, where French speakers recently challenged the appointment of an English-speaking Lieutenant Governor on similar grounds.

A judge ruled in April that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau violated constitutional language protection when appointing Brenda Murphy, but the judge added that canceling the nomination could "create a legislative and constitutional crisis."

Simon speaks English and Inuktitut, and has promised to learn French, but Bastien said the government should have chosen one of the many qualified Indigenous candidates who speak both official languages.

Bastien said: "Our view is that the constitution stipulates that the appointed person must be bilingual."

The court cites materials from the Charter and the Constitution stating that French and English have equal status and that citizens have the right to communicate with the federal government and receive services in either language.