François Legault does not want to go down in history as a prime minister who watched idly by the rapid decline of French. At the CAQ congress, in front of activists who had given him Stalinist support, he set the objective of reversing the trend and increasing the percentage of French speakers in Quebec.
As Ottawa continues to turn a deaf ear to the Legault government’s request for more powers over immigration, it will have to settle for using more effectively, and more fully, the powers it has.
Immigration is now seen as a means of reinforcing the French fact rather than a threat of Anglicization. The Legault government rejects the idea of reducing the current immigration threshold, set at some 50,000 immigrants admitted annually, as the Parti Québécois would like, which proposes to stick to 35,000. The decision of the CAQ government, in 2018 , to reduce the number of immigrants admitted to 40,000 had caused him headaches, leading to serious problems with the “inventory”, that is to say, this mass of holders of a Quebec Selection Certificate deprived of permanent residence.
Soon, the Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration, Christine Fréchette, will unveil the consultation document for the holding of the parliamentary committee that will consider the Multi-Year Plan at the end of the summer. immigration 2024-2027, a compulsory passage provided for in the law. As is usually the case during this exercise, the Minister will present not just one, but a few scenarios on immigration targets.
The CAQ government wants to ensure that the so-called economic immigration route, the one chosen by Quebec and which constitutes 65% of permanent immigration, is reserved exclusively for candidates who have a knowledge of French. Knowledge of the common language will become a condition sine qua non. It is necessary.
But temporary immigration is just as crucial. There are currently more than 90,000 foreign students in the territory and 45% of them attend CEGEPs and English-language universities, located mainly on the island of Montreal. It is clear that these students, who for the most part do not speak French, are helping to anglicize the metropolis. As they have work permits, their presence is no doubt linked to the dazzling increase in complaints handled by the Office québécois de la langue française concerning the language of service. To counter this phenomenon, the CAQ government plans to increase the proportion of foreign students who study in French-language CEGEPs and universities.
In addition, Quebec has no say in the arrival of the majority of temporary workers brought in by Ottawa through its variable geometry program called the International Mobility Program. Nearly 75,000 so-called temporary workers, but often hired for long periods of three, four or five years, or even more, escape the responsibilities of the Quebec state.
At the beginning of June, Francisation Québec will be launched, an entity resulting from Law 96 on the common language and responsible for offering French courses in class, online and in companies. The CAQ government has also formed the Action Group for the Future of the French Language, chaired by Minister Jean-François Roberge, and bringing together five ministries. We want to give ourselves the means to reach Quebecers who do not speak French, particularly in the workplace. The group must deliver an action plan this fall to ensure, among other things, the exemplary nature of the State in terms of the French language, which includes municipalities, including Montreal. Good luck.
While these ministries rack their brains, the 48 cities that have bilingual status, but do not meet the criterion of having at least 50% English-speaking citizens, have been notified that they are losing this status, in accordance with the new law. . However, as this same law allows, a simple resolution of the municipal council allowed them to maintain the status quo. All of these towns, without exception, even Otterburn Park, which has only 7.2% English speakers, have chosen to remain bilingual. The force of habit, we will say, but for the example, we will come back.
A year ago, François Legault, brandishing the specter of “Louisianization”, demanded that Ottawa have all the powers over immigration. But today, the CAQ leader says he wants to be content with the means at hand, resigning himself to exercising only partial control over an issue that is nevertheless existential for the Quebec nation. As for the results, we will have to be patient: changing the demolinguistic trend will take years.