Under a Liberal government, there is no longer any obligation to take three courses in French, making them “optional”. The party is also positioned in favor of the expansion of Dawson College in Montreal.
The PLQ intends to support an emergency resolution adopted Saturday afternoon by the members of the PLQ’s Youth Commission, the party confirmed to the To have to.
The document calls for an end to the obligation for non-French-speaking students in English-speaking colleges to take three courses taught in French or three courses in French. These courses would then become “optional rather than compulsory” so that they do not constitute a “hindere to educational success”, we can read. This request is not currently included in the party’s electoral platform, adopted last June.
The resolution, which was not initially included in the list of proposals drawn up in anticipation of the 40th convention of the Young Liberals, also asks the party to “reaffirm its commitment to giving students the right to choose to go to CEGEP in French or English”, as already provided for in the PLQ platform.
It is therefore recommended to abolish the freeze on the proportion of students in English-language colleges in relation to the entire college network in the province as set out in “Bill 96”, which reformed the Charter of the French language at the end of its adoption last May. Some of his articles were suspended on Friday following a decision by the Superior Court of Quebec.
“We want students to be able to study in the language they want”, summarizes Max Edmond, a young activist met during this congress, who does not however oppose the promotion of the language of Molière in the province.
“We can be against Bill 96, but be for the defense of French,” he insists.
Several young activists of the PLQ have also indicated to the To have to Saturday that it was the recent reform of the Charter of the French language which prompted them to mobilize in favor of the training of Dominique Anglade. “Many of us got involved in the party because we know it’s better to be bilingual,” notes Adelka Felcarek-Hope, who lives in Westmount and studies at Dawson College, among others. For her, the reform of “Bill 101” was “the trigger” for her mobilization in favor of the PLQ.
“It’s a right they want to take away from us [d’étudier en anglais] and it hurts my heart, ”says Yves-Jusslin Maniratanga for his part, at the place of the formation of François Legault.
Expand Dawson College
The resolution also aims to denounce the dismissal addressed by the outgoing government of François Legault at the beginning of the year concerning the expansion project of Dawson College, which according to the young liberals must be put back “on track”. They believe that the Government of Quebec must commit to ensuring that “the infrastructure projects” of this English-speaking postsecondary institution “be analyzed according to real needs” and not “for political reasons”.
The leader of the PLQ, Dominique Anglade, was not available to comment on this resolution on Saturday afternoon, but her team confirmed that her party will support it and will therefore militate against the obligation of three courses in French for students. English colleges during the next election campaign.
Earlier in the day, Saturday, Ms. Anglade also said she was “very confident”, in a press briefing, that her training will be able to seduce the English-speaking vote in anticipation of the October 3 ballot.
“People will realize that François Legault wants to divide us with Bill 96, divide us with Bill 21, divide us with Bill 40 on school boards,” listed Ms. Anglade. “If we want to replace François Legault, the option is the Quebec Liberal Party,” she added.
The training also presented four new candidates on Saturday afternoon, bringing to 75 the number of candidates unveiled so far. Christopher Baenninger will present himself in Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques, in Montreal, while Julie Guertin will try her luck in La Prairie. Jérémy Leblanc will run for his part in Champlain and Suzanne Pomerleau in the riding of Prévost.