Five English-speaking CEGEPs are uniting their voices to urge the Quebec government to completely exempt Indigenous students from the provisions included in the reform of the Charter of the French Language. Otherwise, many of them risk leaving the province to pursue their studies in Ontario, or even abandoning them.
There is “urgency to act” to modify this legislation resulting from Bill 96, adopted in 2022, before all of its provisions come into force next fall, write the members of the management of these CEGEPs, four of which are based in the greater Montreal region and the fifth — Cégep Héritage — in Gatineau, in a letter sent Thursday to Prime Minister François Legault.
In recent years, these establishments have seen the number of their indigenous students increase to currently reach between 300 and 400, according to their estimates. By requiring these students to successfully complete three additional courses in French, Bill 96 risks encouraging many to leave the province to study in Ontario or elsewhere in the country — or even to abandon their studies — these establishments fear.
“I am worried that students will be discouraged and decide to abandon their post-secondary studies with the added French courses,” fears Tiawenti:non Canadian, coordinator of the First Nations Center at Dawson College. “I have the impression that the needs of indigenous students are being ignored and that this law will have a great impact on our young people and on the development of our communities,” continues the one who notes that several indigenous students have the impression that They “don’t belong here” because of this law.
In their letter, the English-speaking CEGEPs deplore that this reform of the Charter of the French Language, which is the subject of a legal appeal launched by indigenous groups, imposes “multiple systemic and discriminatory obstacles” against students from First Nations. The document also mentions difficulties for several indigenous students in accessing the exemptions from which they can benefit under this law, particularly with regard to taking the uniform French test.
“We understand that this measure represents a response to requests related to the journey of indigenous students and Bill 14, but it is clear that many do not take advantage of it,” we can read.
“The barrier too many”
English-speaking CEGEPs also point out that the educational path of indigenous students — for whom French is often a third language — is already fraught with pitfalls. They must exile themselves far from their community to complete their studies, which can lead them to experience significant loneliness in addition to cultural shock.
Dawson College thus reports a lower success and retention rate for Indigenous students within its establishment compared to all of its students. For many Indigenous students, “French is the barrier too many,” notes the college’s general director, Diane Gauvin.
“I am Indigenous and I too had this experience of leaving my community to go to school. And I know that if this law had existed when I went to school, it would have really deterred me. And I don’t know if I would have gone to school,” confides to Duty Assistant Director of Indigenous Education at John Abbott College, Kim Tekakwitha Martin.
The letter sent Thursday to the Prime Minister of Quebec also notes that “the requirements for French courses leave little or no room for our CEGEPs to offer indigenous language courses”, a situation that Ms.me Martin. “Students, instead of choosing their own language, they must choose to take French lessons. »
However, these indigenous students “represent no threat to French”, given their relatively low number in the English-speaking college network, believes Francesca Roy, a teacher in the French Department at Dawson College. “Why do we want to impose a language barrier on these students at the risk of damaging our already fragile relations with Indigenous people? » she asks herself.
Joined by The duty, the office of the Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry, ensures that it is “very sensitive to the issue of accessibility to higher education for students from indigenous communities”. In writing, he recalls the regulatory relief put in place to allow indigenous students “to take French courses according to their level” rather than courses “in French”, as provided for in the reform of the Language Charter. French.
“We hope that all the conditions are met to ensure their success and we will continue to work in this direction,” concludes the firm.