'Significantly underfunded': English group asks for more support from Quebec

A group representing English-speaking Quebecers is asking for the province to provide more funding to "significantly underfunded" community groups serving anglophones.

In a pre-budget consultation brief prepared by the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN), community groups dedicated to English speakers are said to be struggling to provide essential services.

The QCGN presented the eight-page brief to Finance Minister Éric Girard Tuesday during the annual pre-budget consultation process. The group also met with the minister for the first time since he was appointed to his new role as minister responsible for relations with English-speaking Quebecers. 

The organization wants a greater portion of the $1.1 billion Quebec provides to community groups that serve in areas such as youth, seniors and employment. An estimate cited in the brief said English groups have previously received as little as three per cent of the total share.

The QCGN said that the figure should be increased to 15 per cent to reflect the share of anglophones in the Quebec population.

The most recent federal census said the proportion of people in Quebec whose first official language is English rose from 12 per cent in 2016 to 13 per cent in 2021, after the number of English speakers topped one million for the first time.

"We believe we should have an equitable share of funding to serve our group," said Sylvia M. Laforge, the QCGN's director general, in an interview with CTV News on Tuesday. 

"It could be the Black community, other racialized communities, LGBT groups, seniors groups, youth groups. So the services that the government cannot give to English-speaking Quebecers because of their lack of capacity, because they don't have enough bilingual workers to give the services has to be taken up by someone. And that costs money. It costs resources. It's administrative money."

She said anglophone groups "felt that they were heard" after their meeting with Girard on Tuesday. 

Her organization noted in the brief that with the difficult economic climate, "community sector organizations require additional support to meet increasing demand for the services and support they provide."

CALLS FOR FORMAL HEARINGS ON BILL 96

The same document made a second significant demand: formal parliamentary hearings on the economic impacts of Quebec's new language law, commonly known as Bill 96.

The QCGN said there is a need for a "real and meaningful dialogue" on the English community's concerns about the revamp of the Quebec language charter. The law has exposed concerns about Quebec's ability to attract and retain international business investments, among other things, according to the brief.

A survey commissioned by the group between Dec. 7, 2022 and Jan. 10, 2023 found that 87 per cent of stakeholders from the English-speaking community see negative impacts on Quebec's economy due to Bill 96.

"If Quebec develops an internationally unfavourable reputation based on perceptions of its business landscape being prohibitive, or of its health care and education systems being difficult to access, businesses and the people who drive them will be less likely to want to establish themselves here and contribute to Quebec’s economy," the pre-budget document stated.

With files from CTV's Rob Lurie