A major change is coming for the tens of thousands of people — most of them immigrants — who have begun the process of becoming French speakers in Quebec. The Duty learned that François Legault’s government will abolish the financial aid offered to them to take part-time lessons as of the end of September.
This is the first major gesture by the Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration, Jean-François Roberge, in his new role.
The elected official, who inherited this important portfolio last week, informed the main partners in the sector on Friday. His decision, which will put an end to a $28 per day incentive for people registered part-time in French language courses as of September 23, has had the effect of a small bomb among French language organizations.
Mr. Roberge justifies his choice by highlighting the “enthusiasm” that Francisation Québec has faced since its launch in 2023. “We wanted to encourage registrations, so we gave an allowance, compensation, for part-time work. There, demand exploded. And so we think we no longer need to do that,” explained Minister Roberge in an interview with The Duty.
Launched in 2019, the “incentive financial assistance for certain French courses offered in Quebec” had served more than 50,000 people registered for part-time courses in the first year of activity of Francisation Québec. This represents approximately two-thirds of students in the process of francization, according to figures provided by Minister Roberge’s office.
However, according to the latest news, the waiting list for taking francisation lessons in Quebec is not getting any shorter. In a lengthy evaluation report filed last May, the Commissioner of the French Language, Benoît Dubreuil, noted that in its first year of operation, Francisation Québec had only been able to process half of its registration requests.
Faced with this growing challenge, Jean-François Roberge decided to redirect the “expense” that the allowance represented so that it would instead be used to provide services. “Instead of using Francisation Québec’s money to provide allowances, which are no longer necessary, we will use the money to do francization,” he said. “So, in the long term, we will accomplish our mandate better, because we will have francized more people.”
“15,000 more people”
According to our information, Quebec will soon put an end to the salary compensation paid to employees of companies with 100 or more employees. Financial assistance for full-time francization, which is equivalent to $230 per week, remains. The $9 allowance per child offered to pay for daycare services during the delivery of courses, too.
The Legault government estimates that it will be able to free up “65 or 67 million dollars” over a year. These sums will be “100% reallocated” to Francisation Québec, in order to “increase the course offering” and hire teachers to reduce waiting times, promises the new Minister of Immigration.
This will be in addition to the funds dedicated to francisation in the latest action plan on the future of the French language. “We think we will be able to francise approximately 15,000 more people over the course of a year,” Mr. Roberge estimated.
” Surprise “
Reached Friday, the Regroupement des organismes en francisation du Québec did not hide its “surprise” and “disappointment” at Minister Roberge’s decision. “Announcing this a week before it comes into effect, it’s almost a sign of disrespect,” said the organization’s executive director, Carlos Carmona, in an interview.
According to him, the announcement risks causing a “loss” of interest in French language courses. “Because the work or the schedules do not coincide,” he exemplified.
A francization teacher with a doctorate in second language teaching, Tania Longpré says she is disappointed that barely five years after the allocation was introduced, the government has chosen to eliminate it. “We’ve been waiting for incentives for a long time, and now that francization is becoming a major integration tool, we’ve been shown the opposite for several weeks,” she said.
No matter, the government will move forward, maintains Jean-François Roberge, who does not fear a loss of interest. “The trend has started, people want to become French,” he concluded.