Introduction
In a previous text I analyzed An Act respecting National Integration (Bill PL-84). This is an update.
Since then, the bill has been renamed and adopted as the Act respecting integration into the Quebec nation 2025 SQ cp . 13.
In my previous text I noted the (non) application to English speakers of most of the essential provisions of the bill:
English-speaking people are, by far, the largest minority in Quebec.
Furthermore, English is by far the most widely spoken language in the
United States, elsewhere in Canada and even in Quebec in large areas of
western Montreal, and by our immigrants. If French is in decline in
Quebec, this decline directly benefits English. If one day French were
to cease to be the most widely spoken language in Quebec, there is no
doubt that English will replace it. So, one could legitimately expect
that Bill 84 would seek to promote the mastery and use of French by the
English-speaking Quebec community and, more generally, its integration
into Quebec society. The two English-speaking organizations that
presented briefs want to continue the two solitudes, and minimize as
much as possible the application of Bill 84. But writing a law on
national integration, and making it non-applicable to English-speakers,
makes no sense.
In particular, the obligation to learn French was limited to immigrants:
7-...Quebecers who are immigrants are also expected to:
1° learn the French language, if they do not master it upon arrival, and contribute to its unifying role as the official language and common language of Quebec ;
And the law as adopted?
Unfortunately, the law as adopted maintains the (non)application of several of its provisions to English speakers. We deplore this.
Fortunately, the final text of the law, as relating to French language proficiency, took into account our comments on the draft law. It now states that:
7. All Quebecers, including immigrants, are expected to...
(2) learn the French language if they do not master it, and contribute to its
unifying role;... (5) participate fully, in French, in Québec society, in particular in its
economic, cultural and civic spheres;
This text is an important improvement over Bill 84, which limited the obligation to learn French to immigrants. Applying this requirement to all three categories of English speakers (those from Quebec (de souche), those from other provinces, and those from other countries) is particularly important. However, in our opinion, the Act should have followed up by specifying how, in practice, students in the English-language school system will acquire a real mastery of French.
Conclusion and recommendation
I have already written elsewhere (Bonjour Merci Québec memorandum to the government to ensure a real mastery of French by English-speaking students in Quebec) on the measures necessary to ensure a real mastery of French by English-speaking students. Bill 84 was precisely an opportunity to specify how these students will acquire a real mastery of French.
A reminder: two stated objectives of this new law are to:
- integrate into the Quebec nation; and
- participate fully in French in Quebec society.
For us, to meet these two objectives, every graduate from Quebec's English-language public system should be able to speak (a long, not just a short, conversation), write, read, and think IN FRENCH on topics of complexity specific to high school graduates. It should no longer be possible to graduate from the English school system without mastering French in all subjects, not just in language courses.
Thus, we would have liked to see the addition to Article 7 of the Act of an additional provision requiring French proficiency for graduates of primary and secondary schools in the Quebec English-language school system. Here is an example of a possible text:
In particular, it is expected that all English-speaking students and other students enrolled in elementary and secondary schools in the English-language school system shall acquire a real mastery of French in order to enable them to integrate into the Quebec nation and to participate fully in French in Quebec society. The Minister responsible for this Act, in consultation with the Minister of Education, may impose, as a condition of graduation, appropriate exams in French on all school subjects, for graduates of the elementary and secondary levels in the English-language school system, to ensure the acquisition of a real mastery of French.
Let us hope that the legislature will see fit to add such a text in the near future.
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Marc Ryan
Author