The Quebec government will not give a penny to expand Dawson College, Prime Minister François Legault said on Tuesday, judging that “it is better to expand the French-speaking colleges before increasing the capacity” of the English-language CEGEP of 8,000 students.
“In Dawson, only 50% of students are Anglophones, and we think that currently, when choosing priorities, it is preferable to, first, proceed with the expansion of French-speaking CEGEPs,” he told the press.
The Minister of Higher Education, Danielle McCann, suggests to the management of the English-speaking CEGEP in downtown Montreal, which is popular with many allophones and Francophones, to consider renting in particular to “give oxygen , give space” to his students. “We will surely be able to explore alternatives [avec les dirigeants du cégep]. Besides, that’s what they were told, ”she said during a press scrum.
Ms. McCann indicated in turn that she wanted to give priority to infrastructure projects for French-speaking CEGEPs in the Montreal region, which, according to her forecasts, will welcome some 22,000 additional students over the next five years.
The president of the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN), Marlene Jennings, was indignant at the “simply appalling” decision taken by the CAQ government. In his eyes, François Legault’s team is leading a “persistent and relentless attack […] against the vitality of the English-speaking community in Quebec”.
The Leader of the Official Opposition, Dominique Anglade, deplored the Legault government’s decision to strike the Dawson College expansion project from its list of priority infrastructure projects. “It’s not a language issue, it’s a fairness issue,” she said, while pointing to a “lack of space for students at Dawson.” ” [Le projet ne consistait pas à] attract more students, just to meet the standards of the Ministry of Education,” she insisted.
The Parti Québécois for its part criticized the Legault government for having “given [é] a gift [à Dawson] to further anglicize Montreal, while French-speaking establishments receive crumbs”.
The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal (SSJB-Montreal) applauded the announcement by Mr. Legault and Ms. McCann. “All that remains is to apply Law 101 to all CEGEPs in Quebec,” she argued.
The minister responsible for the French language, Simon Jolin-Barrette, refuses to do so, for the moment.
Mr. Jolin-Barrette reminded the Duty that the government will introduce a “freezing of the number of places” in the English-language network, in addition to adding the passing of the Uniform French Test as a condition sine qua non to obtaining a diploma of college studies — “with the exception of eligible persons”, that is to say people who have been able to do their schooling in English.