The Quebec English School Boards Association launched a “use it or lose it” campaign in some Montreal media, advising anglophone parents who have put their kids in French schools to apply for or track down the English eligibility certificate to which their children are likely entitled, warning if they don’t their kids may lose their right to access English CEGEP education.

In the Pontiac region, executive director of the Regional Association of West Quebecers Alina Holmes said she has gotten an increased number of phone calls and emails from parents inquiring about the utility of this certificate, whether it’s something they should claim for their own kids, or how to know if they already have it.

THE EQUITY sat down with Holmes to better understand the what’s what when it comes to this eligibility certificate and offer some clarity around some basic questions.

What is this certificate?

The English eligibility certificate (Déclaration d’admissibilité à l’enseignement en anglais, in French) is a document that grants certain anglophone Quebecers access to English-language education. It was born out of the 1977 Charter of the French Language (Bill 101).

Why are people talking about it now?

“It’s always interesting when these things resurface,” Holmes said. “This came out of Bill 101, so it’s not new. I think a big reason the conversation is happening again now is because of Law 14 [Bill 96] and the impact the certificate of eligibility can have on CEGEP enrollment.”

“The government will tell you, and it’s correct in a sense, that you do not require a certificate of eligibility to be admitted to an English CEGEP. However what they don’t tell you is because of the cap on enrollment that came in with Law 14, priority admissions go to people who have the certificate. So now that the CEGEPs have had to cap enrollment, if you don’t have a certificate of eligibility, realistically you’re not getting in because they’re going to take those students [with certificates] first,” Holmes said.

She explained not having the certificate could also impact your admission to English programs even in French CEGEPs.

“And if you don’t have it, it prevents you from taking an English exit exam to graduate. So you’ll be required to take the French exit exam when you graduate, even if you’re at an English CEGEP.”

What makes my kid eligible for this certificate?

If your kids are Quebec residents and have a mother or father who is a Canadian citizen, they may be eligible for the certificate if they have a parent or sibling who received English elementary education in Canada, or if one of their parents attended school in Quebec after Aug. 1977 and was eligible for English instruction at that time.

This means that anglophone immigrants who move to Quebec from abroad will not be eligible for English education, even if their kids don’t speak French.

“So an example would be someone that has immigrated from the United States to Canada, completed all their education in English, they don’t qualify,” Holmes said.

How do I get it?

“If you [or your child] went to English school in Quebec you would have had to receive it,” Holmes explained. “I think a lot of people don’t know because the school kind of takes care of it. Especially when you’re young, you’re in elementary school, your parents just sort of sign a bunch of papers. So you often don’t know if you actually do have a copy of it or not.”

Holmes said the latest English school your child attended (elementary or high school) should have it on file. You can request a copy of it from the school, or through Quebec’s education ministry.

If you put your child in the French school system, and your child has never attended an English school in Quebec, you will need to apply to receive the certificate. This must be done through a school in an English school board, even if your child is enrolled in a French school. The certificate must be obtained before your child enters Grade 11 (Sec 5).

“It doesn’t matter if your child is attending English school or not. If you’re eligible, the school board will walk you through the process, they will file the application on your behalf, and the certificate will come to you personally in the mail,” Holmes said.

Should I get it if I don’t think my child will ever need it?

“Often people who are eligible for English language instruction choose to send their children to a French school, which is absolutely their right, and I think in doing so they often don’t realize the effect that that can have on other aspects down the road,” Holmes said.

“I try to remind parents that if their children, down the road, have children, and they don’t have their certificate of eligibility, their children will no longer be eligible [for English education]. So they’re sort of cutting off the possibility for future generations to have this in place. [ . . . ] Regardless of whether you choose to send your child to English or French school, [by getting the certificate] you’re sort of protecting that right, down the line.”

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