Two opposition parties reacted Thursday morning to the long delays experienced by several newcomers before obtaining their financial assistance for francization. Concerning francization organizations, the concern is above all around a provision in Bill 96.
The duty revealed that many students must in fact do without for two months, or even three, a stipend of $ 200 per week given for full-time French courses. Some are thinking of stopping francization in order to work more. Several teachers and staff at school service centers and CEGEPs also note these delays in processing financial assistance requests.
The Ministry of Immigration, Francization and Integration (MIFI) for its part claims not to have identified this problem.
The co-spokesperson for Quebec solidaire, Manon Massé, protested against this expectation of income: “It doesn’t make sense for people who show us that they have chosen Quebec, who show us that ” they want to be part of the francophone culture of Quebec [attendent leur allocation] », She declared at a press briefing.
The $ 200 per week amount is half the minimum wage, she said, which puts students in a dilemma between paying the bills or studying. “I find that quite insulting when, after that, we say that it is the immigrants’ fault if we are losing French in Quebec,” added the member.
“It breaks my heart,” said Pascal Bérubé, member of the Parti Québécois. He also claimed to know of similar cases in his own constituency. “We cannot create false expectations and excessively long deadlines, so let’s be efficient and welcome with dignity the people who want to join our company,” he concluded.
The expectations of Bill 96
In the field of francization organizations, concerns are more focused on the intention of the government of François Legault to prohibit public sector employees from speaking in a language other than French to immigrants who have arrived for more than six months. This provision is contained in Bill 96, which is currently being studied by the National Assembly.
These entities, often community-based, operate differently from CEGEPs and school service centers for French courses. “Yes, there are challenges reported by francization organizations,” admits Stephan Reichhold, director of the Table de concertation des organizations serving refugees and immigrants (TCRI).
The administrative procedures for the arrival of immigrants take several months, and if we must add a period of three months to have access to a French course and funding, “it is even more improbable” to be able to speak. French in six months, he says. The TCRI, which represents 159 organizations, is calling for the relevant articles to be removed from the bill, saying it is “deeply concerned” that these provisions compromise access to essential services.
Carlos Carmona, director of the Regroupement des organisms en francisation du Québec (ROFQ), also notes “that six months to learn French is absolutely illusory”. The recommended program for community organizations has four eleven-week sessions, “that’s already more than six months,” says Carmona.
He also describes students who “come with a very different background from the point of view of years of schooling”. The ROFQ shared its opinion with the government during public consultations this fall.
With François Carabin, parliamentary correspondent in Quebec