It is almost pathetic to see the Minister responsible for the French Language, Simon Jolin-Barrette, fighting with his own government to try to give Bill 96 some teeth. The house is burning, but the buckets are counting. water.
Failing to extend the provisions of Bill 101 to the college level, which Prime Minister Legault stubbornly refuses, he is now proposing a freeze on the number of places in English-speaking CEGEPs and a ceiling equivalent to no more than 17.5% of places in the college network as a whole, more than double the proportion of native English speakers in Quebec.
Due to the freeze, the government has calculated that this percentage will drop to 14.2% in 2029-2030 and 11.2% in 2039-2040. The problem is that places in English colleges are largely concentrated in Montreal, so these establishments will be able to meet the cap while continuing to welcome a high proportion of non-English speaking students, the vast majority of whom will pursue university studies in English. or will integrate into the labor market in this language and thus contribute to the anglicization of the metropolis.
Moreover, over the next few decades, another government could very well decide to modify these percentages, when it would be practically impossible to reverse the extension of Bill 101 to the college level. The Liberals have never dared to restore free choice in elementary and secondary schools.
In an open letter published Friday, the president of the French Movement Quebec, Maxime Laporte, criticizes Mr. Jolin-Barrette for not having put his seat at stake to force the hand of his leader, as Camille Laurin had done in 1977 That was a lot to ask.
“The whole nation would have supported him or, at least, held him in admiration”, which can be “a substantial advantage, if there is one, for a nascent career”, writes Mr. Laporte. History unfortunately teaches that the mood of the nation is changeable, and not everyone has the soul of a martyr.
After secularism, language was to be the great battle horse of the CAQ and mark the consecration of Simon Jolin-Barrette, who must now wage a humiliating rearguard fight.
It is certainly frustrating to have to settle for half measures when the situation calls for a strong remedy and public opinion is now ready for it, but that does not authorize him to rewrite history.
Accused by the PQ MP for Matane, Pascal Bérubé, of practicing “homeopathic nationalism”, the Minister declared: “The Parti Québécois would have had the opportunity to present such a tough bill over the years, it did not did not. Today, the Parti Québécois lives with its regrets. »
It is true that the PQ’s position on the CEGEP has fluctuated quite a bit over the years, but if the minority government of Pauline Marois had to give up on strengthening Bill 101 in 2013, it is because the CAQ refused to to lean on. The party wanted to guarantee access to English CEGEPs to French-speaking students so much that it even found it unacceptable to give priority to English-speakers in their own colleges.
While the Canadian army tried to set up French schools near its bases in the rest of Canada to attract French speakers, the CAQ was also opposed to their children being required to attend French school in Quebec so they could go to English school if they moved.
If that can console him, Mr. Jolin-Barrette is not the only one whose party line must disturb the conscience. When he was head of National Option, his colleague in solidarity with Jean-Lesage, Sol Zanetti, was also a supporter of the extension of Law 101 to colleges.
“Research has clearly shown that the language of study used by a person at the college level greatly influences the language that will subsequently be used in the labor market by this same person,” he explained. “You must not only have the courage of your convictions, but also have your word! »
The leader of the PLQ, Dominique Anglade, took advantage of a visit to Cégep Dawson this week to reaffirm her role as defender of the English-speaking community, after the moment of bewilderment which had made her reserve a warm welcome to Bill 96. As the CAQ once criticized the PQ, it said it saw in Mr. Jolin-Barrette’s new proposals a hypocritical maneuver aimed at indirectly extending Law 101 to the CEGEP.
The attempt to flirt with the French-speaking electorate of Mme Anglade having not produced any results, it is time to ensure that the traditional clientele of the PLQ will be there next October.