Despite the government’s efforts to extend francization to immigrants with temporary status, they face too many obstacles to obtaining a level of French that would allow them to function in everyday life. . This situation makes them a “captive workforce” and makes it difficult, if not impossible, for some to dream of settling permanently in Quebec, shows a qualitative study by Université Laval.
“Taking French lessons when you work full time, in the midst of a labor shortage and with the pressure to work more hours, is extremely heavy,” says social work professor Stéphanie Arsenault, who presented at the ACFAS congress the preliminary results of a study carried out with his colleagues from Laval University. “And for those who have children, it is an extremely big challenge. »
She cites the case of a welder working in a factory in Quebec, interviewed as part of the study, who works from 3 p.m. to midnight, goes to bed around 2 a.m. after taking a bite and finds himself French the next day from 8:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. “He told us: ‘Me tired, me too tired, me so tired…’ Mme Arsenault.
This testimony, as well as that of a dozen other workers, foreign students and asylum seekers from Quebec, reveals what motivates immigrants to enroll in a French course. “Unanimously, they say it’s to do their job well. Because even if they have been hired, they do not have a sufficient level of French”, explains the researcher. “A beneficiary attendant said that she could name the items useful for her work, but that she could not converse with the people she was caring for. »
According to the most recent data, Quebec welcomed a total of 136,000 temporary residents in 2019, nearly half of whom were workers. In this last category, 74% of people received through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program did not know French when they arrived. Of the 56,000 foreign students who came to Quebec, nearly 50% did not speak French.
Dreaming of permanent residence
Beyond wanting to do their job well or talk to the doctor or mechanic, temporary workers have another great motivation to learn French: to settle in Quebec permanently and grow professionally there. “They come as temporary, but it’s not a status or a situation that they plan to keep ad vitam aeternam », maintains Stéphanie Arsenault.
Last week, in a parliamentary committee, the Minister of Immigration, Jean Boulet, argued that temporary workers “not all want to stay permanently”. He cited as an example the case of agricultural workers. In his opinion, “it’s a minority that wants to stay in Quebec permanently.”
For the professor from Laval University, this is a false representation of reality, since seasonal agricultural workers have never had the opportunity to come with their families. “How could they have considered staying here permanently? » she underlines.
But still, in order to hope to become a permanent resident, in particular through the Quebec experience program, agricultural workers must demonstrate that they have level 7 in French, which is no small task for these employees who work tirelessly, sometimes six days a week. “Access to francization for seasonal agricultural workers is theoretical. In reality, they have neither the time nor the energy to learn French”, notes the researcher. “It’s a group of captive workers,” which prevents them from accessing training and hinders their professional and geographic mobility.
In 2019, 40,500 permanent residents were admitted to Quebec, three times less than the number of immigrants with temporary status. Responding to the call from the economic community, Minister Boulet is putting a lot of effort into increasing the number of these arrivals with precarious status. “For me, seeing immigrants first and foremost as labor is a red herring,” says Ms.me Arsenault, who also believes that the proliferation of temporary workers is “problematic”.
“Access to permanent status is increasingly made conditional on a transitory passage through temporary status, as if immigrants had a few years of probation to do at their own expense… and at their own risk. »