English school boards say bill 96 would go too far by limiting enrollment

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QUEBEC – Proposed new restrictions on eligibility for English education could negatively affect enrollment in the English-speaking system and deter foreigners from moving to Quebec, the committee examining Bill 96 was told Thursday.

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But Simon Jolin-Barrette, the minister responsible for the French language, said he is determined to plug what he sees as a hole in the French language charter that makes it too easy for non-Canadians to circumvent the obligation to send their children to a Frenchman. school in Quebec.

Bill 96 proposes to amend the French Language Charter to specify that English language education certificates for dependent children of foreign citizens temporarily living in Quebec will apply for only three years.

With the current system, certificates can be renewed as long as the parent’s status does not change. Four categories of temporary residents are covered: foreign citizens, Canadian citizens here to work or study, prominent citizens here as representatives of a foreign country or international organization, and members of the Canadian Armed Forces.

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The amendment would not affect people in the last three categories.

But in a 16-page report presented to the committee on Thursday, the Quebec Association of English School Boards called on the government to remove the clause entirely due to possible effects on the already dwindling enrollment in the English school system.

It would also harm Quebec’s ability to attract foreign talent, the association said.

The QESBA gave concrete examples of the advantages of the existing system, noting that in the past many CEOs of Reynolds Aluminum (now Alcoa) were Americans who committed to working and living in the region because they could send their children to English school. .

The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, spent five years in Quebec and graduated from Westmount High School when her mother took a job as a teacher and researcher at McGill.

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Appearing before the committee to present their report, QESBA Executive Director Russell Copeman and President Dan Lamoureux said that given the relatively small number of people who make use of foreign certificates, the clause in Bill 96 appears to be “a solution in search of a problem”.

The total number of students in English public schools with temporary certificates last year was 4,108. Of that number, 926 were members of the Canadian Armed Forces and, by definition, were not foreign nationals.

Copeman said that means the actual total is 3,182, which would represent 0.33 percent of total Quebec school enrollment in 2020-21, which was 963,000 students.

He said that QESBA filed a request for access to information with the education minister to find out the current data and if it represents a real problem, but did not get a response.

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According to Copeman, contrary to the Legault government’s line that Bill 96 will in no way affect the rights and services of the English-speaking community, the proposed legislation does.

“This will limit our enrollment,” he said. “If that doesn’t affect our institutions, I don’t know what is.”

However, Jolin-Barrette insisted that the gap in the law is real and goes against the Quebec philosophy that immigrants should go to French school and integrate into Quebec society. As a result, temporary residents who eventually became Canadian citizens have been able to acquire the right for their children and grandchildren to attend English schools.

“If it is a contradiction, it is a contradiction that has existed since the charter was created,” Copeman said.

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“So if there is a contradiction,” asked Jolin-Barrette, “should we perpetuate this hole in the Charter of the French Language?

“So a few thousand people will upset Quebec’s linguistic balance?” Copeman replied. “I can not agree”.

But Jolin-Barrette challenged Copeman’s claim that the English school system is capable of producing graduates fluent in French.

He quoted Bernard Tremblay, president of the Fédération des CEGEPs, who recently said: “I have testimonies from the directors of Anglophone CEGEPs who tell me that the quality of the French of the Anglophones who attended the English system is appalling.”

Copeman responded by asking why, if this is the case, the ministry exempts English graduates from the need to take a language test to be admitted to their professional field.

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QESBA did not get many answers to the other issues raised in its brief, such as the government’s decision to use the notwithstanding clause of the Constitution to protect Project 96 from legal challenge.

The hearings resumed Tuesday with an appearance by the Quebec Community Groups Network, which recently held hearings parallel to Bill 96 with groups that were not invited to the official hearings.

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