Published January 21, 2025

Community organizations take on francisation workload

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Subsidized French language-learning programs for adults offered by school service centres (CSS) in the greater Quebec City area won’t be scaling registrations back up anytime soon, service centre representatives have confirmed.

The Centre Louis-Jolliet in Limoilou, the Le Phénix adult learning centre in Sainte-Foy, the Centre Saint-Louis in Loretteville and the Centre d’éducation des adultes des Navigateurs in Lévis, along with a number of other adult education centres around the province, were forced to suspend enrolment for subsidized French courses known as francisation this fall due to a mismatch between funding provided by the Ministry of Education and Higher Learning (MEES) and higher-than-expected enrolment. 

In December, after months of lobbying by immigrant rights organizations, unions and individual students and teachers, Minister for the French Language Jean-François Roberge announced $10 million in new funding for francisation programs offered by school service centres in underserved regions. However, none of the three greater Quebec City-area service centres – the CSS de la Capitale, CSS des Découvreurs and CSS des Navigateurs – received extra funding, the QCT confirmed early in the New Year. Students who lost their place in a subsidized class offered by a school service centre this fall were expected to be placed on a waiting list for a course administered through a community group in partnership with the Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI)

“The ministries [of education and immigration] believe that residents of our territory have access to francization services nearby,” CSS des Navigateurs spokesperson Louise Boisvert said. “Our CSS was not targeted to receive part of this funding.” She added that 28 people were currently enrolled in full-time or part-time francisation classes through the CSS, compared to 576 last January.

With the suspension of francisation programs offered by school boards and service centres, students who want to enrol in francisation classes are turning to private options or joining waiting lists for courses offered by the MIFI through community organizations. 

Those classes are at “98 per cent capacity” according to Carlos Carmona, co-ordinator of the Régroupement des organismes en francisation du Québec (ROFQ), which represents community organizations offering subsidized francisation courses. Nevertheless, Carmona said, people looking for a place in a francisation class can contact community organizations working with immigrants in their area. ROFQ members in Quebec City include the Centre RIRE 2000 and Le Mieux-être des Immigrants. 

In principle, would-be students need to sign up on the Francisation Québec web portal (apprendrelefrancais.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca), although the portal is only available in French as of this writing and requires an internet connection. “I know they are working on a new portal, which should be at least available in English and Spanish, although I don’t know what languages it will be available in,” Carmona said. Alternatively, he said, “People can contact our members and come to their offices with their immigration documents and we’ll help them fill out the forms – that’s a service we offer.”  

A person who signs up for a course today, he added, can expect to wait until “at least April” because organizations are no longer accepting new students for the winter semester. The subsidized classes are open to adult immigrants to Canada, transplants from out of province and Quebecers who would like to improve their French skills.  

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