Quebec to spend $603M to help French remain vital in the province

Quebec will spend$603 million over five years to reverse what the province's French language minister describes as the decline of French.

At a news conference Sunday, French Language Minister Jean-Franois Roberge said a total of 21 measures some of which are already in place would help improve the vitality of Quebec's official language in the coming months.

Roberge added that "in a difficult budgetary context like ours," the funding reflects the government's "great commitment" to the French language.

The sum discussed Sunday is mainlycomprised of expenses included in Quebec's 2024-25 budget, such as$320 million allocated over five years to boost the offering of French-language courses the most costly initiative of the language plan.

The measures are based on nine government priorities, which include monitoring indicators of the linguistic situation in Quebec annually and making a dashboard available to thepublic.

Culture Minister Mathieu Lacombe said Sunday that Quebecers could expect the government to table a bill in the next yeartomakeQuebecFrench-language contenton streaming websites like Netflix and Disney readily discoverable.

He said the government is working with localproducers so they could "speak the same language" as the streaming giants and ensure Quebeccontentproperly classified.

Higher Education Minister Pascale Dry said at the news conference that it would take between two to three years to get a picture of the province's linguistic situation based onthe government's indicators.

In a statement published Sunday,Drysaidthe government took "strong action" by raising tuition fees forCanadianout-of-province students attending Quebec English-language universities as part of the government's goal to attractand retaina greater number of French-speaking students and students who come from a culture or region with affinities to French. Also,Quebecis working to speedup the process for international students graduating from French-languageprograms to obtain permanent residencyin the province.

The government says it plans togrowthe percentage of people from economic immigration who know French, improve temporary foreign workers' and asylum seekers' knowledge of thelanguage as well asthe mastery of French among students and strengthenQuebecers' attachment toFrench.

Use of French in public spaces stable: Quebec's language watchdog

Despite Roberge saying in a statement Sunday that "all indicators point to an increasingly pronounced decline ofFrench" in Quebec,the use of French in public spaces has remained stable in Quebec since 2007, according to a study by Quebec's language watchdog, the Office qubcois de la langue franaise (OQLF), published in April.

About 79 per cent of Quebecers in 2022 used French most often in public spaces, the OQLF found.

The study is based on data from a survey of 7,171 Quebecers conducted between March and May 2022 and on focus groups to expand on the survey results.

But the latest plan from the Legault government takes into account five indicators whichhave had "the greatest impact on the vitality of French in Quebec in recent years," said the French Language Ministry in a news release published Sunday.

They are the growth and linguistic profile of the immigrant population, the prominence of English-language digital platforms, attendance at English-language higher education institutions, the low level of mastery of French among students and how active people are at rallying around the use of French.

Liberal MNA and official opposition critic of educationMadwa-Nika Cadet calledthe plan "disappointing and sorely lacking in ambition and vision," saying it "doesn't bring anything new to the table."

She said the $65-million investmentin French-language proficiency in schools is"insufficient."

"The lack of a timetable and targets, as well as the omission of the literacy rate, underline the plan's lack of seriousness," she said.

Cadet also said she was concerned bythe failure to address the issue of French proficiency at college level, despite a government-commissioned study.

Qubec Solidaire MNA for MercierRuba Ghazalsaid in a statement emailed Sunday thatshe welcomed the announcementbut was disappointedby the lack of structural measures to reinforce French as the language of the workplace, which she saysis "the most important indicator that Minister Roberge should follow to measure the vitality of our language."

Ghazalcalled for the government to set up a mandatory French-language programduring workhours.

She said Quebec's LabourMinistry "was not part of MinisterRoberge'sworking group, and it shows."