English-speaking community groups react to budget with cautious optimism

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Groups representing the English-speaking community across the province reacted with cautious optimism and concern to measures aimed at the community in the March 12 budget.

The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) was “pleased to see a modest increase in the budget for organizations and institutions serving the community, with an additional $825,000 in the budget of the Secretariat for Relations with English-speaking Quebecers [and continued support for] wellness centres that aim to enhance the quality of life for English-speaking seniors,” the organization said in a statement.

However, the QCGN ex- pressed disappointment at the lack of measures built into the budget to compen- sate institutions – such as English-language CEGEPs and universities – facing financial fallout from measures taken by the government to ostensibly shore up French. Over the past year, McGill University and Concordia University were forced to increase tuition fees for out-of-province Canadian students and Bishop’s University faced a drop in out-of- province applications before it was ultimately exempted; the number of non-anglophone students allowed to study at English-language CEGEPs was also capped.

“We see the tuition hikes as a de facto cut in the budgets of our universities, and the government has done nothing to alleviate the pressure on these Quebec institutions to make up for a significant loss in both student applications and revenues,” QCGN president Eva Ludvig said. “This is con- trary to the spirit of the budget, which purports to value health and higher education.”

Despite the record $11-billion deficit, Ludvig said the government “still has considerable discretion in how many of its resources are allocated.

“We’ll be watching closely as details emerge … about just where those dollars will flow, because our community’s needs have not gone away,” she said.

David Méloche, executive director of the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA), said school boards were generally content with the state of education funding, but concerned by the lack of new money for school infra- structure and maintenance. “We need to wait for the budget parameters before being able to see the direct impact [on] boards and schools,” he added.

Nicholas Salter is executive director of the Provincial Employment Round Table (PERT), a nonprofit which collects information on employment and employability issues facing English speakers around the province. He said the budget contained encouraging steps forward in terms of French language training but did not sufficiently address the needs of English-speaking job seek- ers. “This budget was a missed opportunity to boost Quebec’s productivity and invest in a population that could be an engine for growth,” he said. “We understand that this bud- get was presented in a tight economic context. However, Quebec’s English-speaking community has been trailing behind in key economic indicators for a number of years. The situation is alarming and requires government intervention. Addressing the employ- ment needs of English speakers is paramount to improving the community’s vitality and contributing to the province’s economic growth.

“Pairing targeted employment services for Quebec’s English speakers with French- language training in the workplace would go a long way to addressing some of the labour shortages across the province. It’s a win-win for our community and Quebec,” Salter concluded.