Immigrants, French language advocates protest francisation cuts
Cassandra Kerwin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
cassandra@qctonline.com
As generations of newcomers to the province have found out, living in Quebec means communicating in French. Without subsidized French courses, known as francisa- tion, immigrants struggle to integrate into Quebec society, find work and take care of everyday tasks. Thousands of students will lose access to their courses on Jan. 24, 2025, due to a misunderstanding over funding between the Quebec government and the school boards and service centres which administer most of the courses. This has upset immigrants and advocates for the protection of French. Tens of thousands marched to protest this decision throughout the province on Nov. 30, including in Quebec City from the Musée National des beaux-Arts du Québec to the National Assembly.
Law 14 has strengthened French language regulations, requiring organizations and businesses to communicate officially in French. Since its passing on June 1, 2022, enrolment in francisation programs has surged. Consequently, funding for these courses was depleted sooner than expected; without extra funding, school boards and service centres were forced to make sweeping cuts or close their adult francisation programs entirely.
In protest, thousands marched to the National Assembly. “We hope that if we make enough noise and often enough, Legault will rescind his decision, find the money for the courses and reinstate them,” said Kasandra Kawan, a francisation student from Colorado.
“This issue affects me personally because I have been taking the francisation courses for 18 years,” said Coun. Jackie Smith, originally from Hamilton, Ont. “It’s a demonstration of how tired we are of always hearing that we have to cut back on human sectors. … We have to inject our resources into the right places and that’s not what we’re doing right now.”
Quebec City-area Québec Solidaire MNAs Sol Zanetti and Étienne Grandmont expressed outrage at the budget cuts. “They’re cutting into the possibility of sharing a common language, they’re cutting into national unity, they’re cutting into something they promised to invest in,” said Zanetti.
According to Martin Hogue, president of the Syndicat de l’enseignement des Deux- Rives, immigrants must achieve a certain level of French to maintain residency – an unattainable requirement for many. Of the 1,227 students studying French as a second language at Centre Louis-Jolliet, only a few will continue learning, while others will be placed on waiting lists for classes offered by the Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI) or look for other solutions.
An additional protest is planned for Dec. 18 at the MNBAQ.