The head of the Western Quebec School Board (WQSB) is denouncing proposed changes to the province’s French language charter that would extend French-language instruction requirements to adult education and vocational training.
On June 4, French-language minister Jean-Francois Roberge tabled Bill 8, which would amend the Charter of the French Language (Law 101) to apply the province’s existing language-of-instruction rules to adult education and vocational training. The Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) government is hoping to pass this bill in the National Assembly before it breaks for summer on June 12.
Under the proposed legislation, students would be required to study in French unless they qualify for English-language instruction under the Charter’s existing eligibility provisions. Under these provisions, the student or a sibling must have completed the majority of their elementary or secondary instruction in English in Canada, or one of their parents must have attended an English-language elementary school in Canada. These restrictions currently do not apply to adult education and vocational training.
WQSB director general Pascal Proulx denounced the proposed changes, calling them a “mistake.” He said there are many adult students across the school board who would not be eligible for English instruction under Bill 101, but who simply choose it because they are more comfortable in English.
“If I take the example of the nursing program, 50 per cent of our students are not Bill 101 eligible,” he said of the program, which has 30 students attending classes at both the Western Quebec Career Centre in Aylmer and the Pontiac Continuing Education Centre in Shawville.
He said the bill would prevent students from filling job openings in high-demand areas, such as nursing, accounting, welding and others.
“We know there’s a need right now for vocational training. The market is requesting more of those well-trained students,” he said.
He said the nursing program would be far from the only one affected. Because students are not asked questions on Bill 101 eligibility before enrolling in classes, Proulx said it is difficult to know exactly how many learners would be affected by the proposed changes.
The board operates six adult education and vocational training centres across the region, serving roughly 1,200 students each year.
French-language minister Roberge said in a press conference on June 4 that the measure is being taken to stop the decline of the French language in the province. He said that there are 27,000 students across the province in the adult and vocational sectors who are studying in English despite not being Bill 101 eligible, a trend he said that needs to be reversed.
“There is a very strong correlation between the final diploma received, the language in which we receive that final diploma, and the language used at work, in communications, even in personal communications,” he said. “It’s a bill that is being added as a series of measures that are indispensable to reverse the decline of the French language.”
Proulx questioned the French service centres’ ability to absorb an additional 27,000 students, citing that some programs, particularly nursing, have a wait list in the French system. He said the French system also has a lack of available classroom space, calling into question whether students will be able to get the education they desire.
“They won’t have the capacity to accept those students [ . . . ] They won’t have the facilities or the teaching staff,” he said.
Quebec English School Board Association president Joe Ortona said in a press release on June 4 that the proposed change would create unnecessary barriers for learners while weakening pathways to employment.
“We believe there are more effective and constructive ways to strengthen and promote the French language without restricting access to education,” Ortona said.
“Enhancing French-language learning within vocational and adult education programs, while supporting practical bilingual training models would better serve both learners, Quebec’s labour market and the province’s economy.”
If this bill becomes law, the new rules would not come into effect before July 1, 2028, meaning that students currently being educated in the English system would be allowed to complete their education in English. Those who register after the bill is adopted are not eligible for the English system would have to move to the French system.
The National Assembly is scheduled to adjourn for the summer on June 12. If the legislation is not passed before then, it can continue through the legislative process when MNAs return in the fall. There is a provincial election on Oct. 4.
