Officials of the new Ministry of the French Language are slow to renew a government program which has allowed for more than 25 years the visits of authors, among others, to college-level classes. Without this valuable government assistance, even though the session began almost two months ago, CEGEPs cannot organize literary activities for their students.
This is the case at the Cégep de Matane, in Bas-Saint-Laurent, where each year, the “Speak to me about a language” program usually allows authors to come to the library for conferences or panels.
“Without this funding, we cannot organize these meetings [entre des auteur.es et la communauté collégiale], because it is difficult (if not impossible) for us to cover the costs. Being located 400 km from Quebec and 700 from Montreal, our CEGEP cannot cover the fees, travel, accommodation and per diem required for the arrival of recognized authors. », Explained by email the local documentation technician, Anick Arsenault.
“Tell me about a language” is usually offered to all post-secondary education sites, but it is mainly CEGEPs that use it. The program makes it possible to present different religious activities, especially with authors, but also with screenwriters, journalists and even artists who promote French in their work. Since 2020, it has had an annual budget of $240,000, which made it possible to finance between 300 and 350 cultural activities each year.
“I don’t see how it could not be renewed. The government is looking for structuring projects that promote the French language. Honestly, I don’t see anything more structuring than “Talk to me about a language” as a project. We go directly to meet students who work in environments where French competes with English. And we achieve our objectives,” argues Geneviève Lauzon, the general director of the Union of Quebec Writers (UNEQ).
Hazardous bureaucratic process
The UNEQ has administered this program since 1997, processing applications and distributing the government envelope across the various cultural activities. Last June, the association submitted a request to officials to renew the program, which would be done before the start of the session, Geneviève Lauzon hoped. However, the end of October is approaching, and UNEQ has still not received confirmation that “Talk to me about a language” was renewed, despite its repeated emails.
In the past, the renewal process was also complicated, because the funds allocated to the program depended on the Secretariat for the Promotion and Enhancement of the French Language. However, this secretariat has been moved from one ministry to another in recent years.
It was under the leadership of the Ministry of Culture, before being transferred to the Ministry of Justice. Then, last year, the secretariat became a full-fledged ministry, adding another layer of complexity to program renewal.
“It’s always starting again, because we constantly have to deal with new civil servants. I have already seen a renewal only arrive in December, whereas we, from June, are ready, we just have to weigh on a peak. Ideally, we should make the program sustainable so that we do not need to take all these steps each time,” maintains the general director of UNEQ.
Program still offered
Despite the slowness of the bureaucratic process, the UNEQ is so convinced that the Ministry of the French Language will eventually renew “Parlez-moi d’une langue” that it continues to offer it to the various post-secondary educational establishments, as if nothing was. As soon as Quebec has confirmed the renewal of the program, UNEQ will retroactively reimburse the expenses incurred for the arrival of the speakers.
“We are committed to it: everyone will be reimbursed, but it is impossible to know when. I am aware that artists must cover their travel and accommodation costs until then. I know that many are in a precarious situation. That even if they know that they will be reimbursed, they perhaps do not have the means to go to Gaspésie for a conference,” laments Geneviève Lauzon, who urges the ministry to work harder to process the request for UNEQ.
The Minister of the French Language, Jean-François Roberge, is currently in Paris. His office was contacted, but our questions were not answered.