Studying in secondary school in English remains possible for immigrants born to two allophone parents. In 20 years, more than 140,000 new Quebecers have followed professional training in English, in contradiction with the spirit of the charter on the French language, reveal data consulted by The duty.
No less than a third (35.5%) of all allophone students in Quebec in secondary vocational training obtained their diploma in English in 2021. The real number is even higher, because these statistics exclude unsubsidized schools.
The Charter of the French Language stipulates that “teaching is given in French in nursery classes, in primary and secondary schools”, with some exceptions. However, the law allows anyone to register, once they have reached the age of 16, for professional training in the language of their choice. It therefore becomes legal to complete secondary school for adults, or even more so in a professional studies diploma (DEP) program, while choosing English as the language of learning.
More than 140,000 have taken advantage of this loophole since 2002, and more than 10,000 in 2021, according to data from the Ministry of Education. Vocational training provides access to a range of “jobs of the future”, as the government describes them, for example mechanic, secretary or heavy goods vehicle driver.
This observation outrages the president of the French Quebec Movement, Maxime Laporte, contacted by The duty. “We imagine that normality is free choice. I regret, but normality is rather that the national language, in a linguistically normal society, imposes itself as the common language, the language of institutions and the official language. »
The tactic is particularly popular in English-speaking school service centers, where 57.8% of newcomers prefer to study in English. “In the vocational training sector, it has even become the main activity of English school boards in Montreal, if not a specialty,” adds Maxime Laporte.
Children of temporary workers also benefit from exemptions from the obligation to learn French in public schools. The independent researcher, columnist and essayist Frédéric Lacroix, who compiled the data cited above, draws up an implacable observation. “In a context of increasing immigration, more and more people in absolute numbers have no obligation to become French. »
More and more French-speaking secondary schools offer professional training in English. In 20 years, nearly 10,000 students have benefited from these programs.
Frédéric Lacroix is concerned about the long-term effect of this schooling in English. He adds that recent studies indicate these “holes”, the result of “poorly written clauses, omissions, unsaid words”, which lead an ever-increasing proportion of Quebecers to use English in the lives of all people. days.
According to the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF), half of young people who studied in an English-speaking post-secondary establishment prefer to work in English (50.4%) and 28.7% of them prefer to receive service in English in businesses.
For all of Quebec, around 12% of professional training students had studied in English in 2021, French, English and allophones combined.
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada