Recent amendments to Bill 96 may hinder access to English-language CEGEP for future high school graduates have been brought to light during the reviewing of the 201 articles in the bill.

Pontiac MNA André Fortin spoke to THE EQUITY and pointed out that there are a number of problems with Bill 96 which includes it’s access to justice, the blanket use of the notwithstanding clause, or the possibility of searching and seizing computers without mandates.

Fortin added that last week things escalated, when the CAQ government set . . .

out to entrench in law a freeze on enrolment in the English CEGEP system under the rules of Quebec’s new language legislation, Bill 96 while opening more spots in French post-secondary schools.

This means neither Heritage College, Dawson College nor John Abbott College will be able to accept more students than it currently has, which can lead to different college campuses not having the capacity to offer certain programs. It also impacts access to education for anglophone students in the Pontiac and Quebec.

Fortin explained that Justice Minister, Simon Jolin-Barrette’s initial promise was to keep the percentage of spots in English CEGEPs where it currently stands at about 17 per cent, but what was essentially done is the minister changed the bill to reduce the percentage over the years, while still allowing French CEGEPs to grow, noted Fortin.

The recent amendments have also highlighted that it will require all students in the English CEGEPs system to take three of their regular courses in French in order to graduate under Bill 96.

There is a diversity of students in many CEGEP schools, said Fortin, with students from both francophone and anglophone students who are looking to improve on their language skills and choose their schools based on what they wish to study, and so Fortin believes there is no reason to prevent the youth from being able to access education in their language of choice.

“We seem to be blocking people from improving their language skills by studying in their own language possibly. So I really fail to see what the gain is here other than the CAQ government really playing divisive English versus French politics,” said Fortin.

Although current students who go to Heritage College may not be impacted, the onslaught of new graduates from high schools in the region might face the issue of not being able to go to the college of their choice.

Emily Twolan, a current student said she worries about her younger brother and sister who might not be afforded the same opportunities in terms of access to education in the language of their choice.

Studying social sciences, Twolan explained that even though she is bilingual, her first choice was going to an English-language CEGEP. “I did my high schooling in English, and I felt like it would be a really big transition. Like because college is a big transition anyway. Having to learn all the French words for things and all that I just feel like it was even harder than I could handle,” she explained.

She noted that if new graduates didn’t find the opportunity to go to the school of their choice in Quebec, it might just deter them from getting an education in the province and move to Ontario instead, as not all her colleagues would be able to acclimate to a French-language CEGEP.

The Heritage College Student Association Vice-President Mathieu Brown, explained that with Bill 96, students might also have to take a French exit exam which currently is not put in place along with the English one. But added that if implemented, he sees it as a positive and doesn’t see efforts to improve the quality of French education students receive in English CEGEP as a negative aspect.

But as a bilingual person he chose to go to an English-language CEGEP as he felt it would open doors for him because he had studied in French all his life. “I wanted to improve on my English,” he said. For Brown, having the choice to study in the language of his choice will allow him to tap into jobs in more English provinces and give him more job opportunities.

“It was a good opportunity to learn about the cultural aspect of the English-language, because that is something else I wasn’t exposed to as much in French,” he said.

Although he agrees improving the quality of the French language is important to improve upon, he noted that students still need to make that choice. “I think it is unfortunate to limit opportunities in learning tools for individuals, I feel like it will be an advantage for me in the workplace to have both languages, and that it’s something to offer to as many people as possible and I think it should be a choice,” he said.

Brown was able to gear his education towards the sort of jobs he wishes to get in graphic and web design, and having both languages equips him for that. “I need to be able to speak the language where those jobs are to be a competitive member in the workplace,” he said.

A teacher at the Agriculture Program at Heritage College, Greg Graham, enjoys seeing his students get along whether francophone or anglophone and seeing students learn from each other.

“If you want to improve francophone CEGEPs, you don’t do it by hurting the English speaking one,” he said, “they should know better.”

The bill, having 201 articles, is currently being reviewed clause by clause before being voted on in January and it will be voted on before the assembly sitting in June, since the Quebec Government will also be gearing up for an election come October.

“We will vote against Bill 96. As it stands, the bill is unacceptable,” said Fortin. He added that the Liberal Party continues to make changes to the bill.

An example he gave was in terms of access to health care provisions that were in the bill. “Bill 96 should not, in theory affect health care services anymore, we continue to try to make changes to protect the rights of English speaking Quebecers and the services offered to them.”

There are a number of issues the Liberal Party will be discussing in coming meetings, pointed out Fortin, many of them in regards to access to services for the English-speaking community.

In terms of the notwithstanding clause, Fortin pointed out that it is put on the whole bill rather than on a specific clause which makes it that much more difficult to challenge in court. “If the government really wants to use the notwithstanding clause, it should tell us what it thinks in the bill is in violation of the Charter of Rights.”

As the assembly is on a two week break, Fortin told The Equity the Liberal

Party and himself are using this time to consult with community members, as well as anglophone advocacy groups to understand their priorities to better speak on the bill in the upcoming parliamentary sittings.

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