Quebec to invest $603 million to protect the French language
Quebec is "going on the offensive" to protect and promote French, Minister Jean-François Roberge said Sunday as he presented a $603-million plan to counter what he described as the language's decline.
Roberge, the Quebec cabinet minister responsible for the French language, said the government's nine priorities include better monitoring of language trends, boosting the French cultural offering and improving students' mastery of French.
Several of the measures are linked to immigration, including increasing the percentage of economic immigrants who speak French and speeding up permanent residency for international students who graduate from francophone programs.
"It's important to mention that we are no longer defending the French language," Roberge told a news conference in Montreal. "We're going on the offensive, no, not against anyone, but to regain lost ground and reverse the decline of French."
The strategy unveiled Sunday includes 21 measures, some of which are already in place or have already been announced.
Those include previously-announced commitments to raise tuition by 30 per cent for out-of-province Canadians and force universities to ensure most of those students are proficient in French when they graduate. The government has also said it will impose stronger French-language requirements for temporary workers and permanent immigrants from the economic stream.
Roberge said the vitality of French in Quebec is being challenged by a number of factors including the growing numbers of non-French-speaking immigrants, the domination of mainly-English digital platforms and the number of students attending English universities.
Roberge spoke at the news conference alongside the provincial ministers from the immigration, culture, education, higher education, and international relations departments. They, and others, are part of a working group focusing on the future of French in Quebec.
He said the $603-million, five-year plan, unveiled during a "difficult budgetary context," shows the government's commitment to the French language. The plan specified that the funding had already been provided for in the province's financial framework.
Roberge cited data from the 2021 census that showed the percentage of Quebec residents who predominantly speak French at home declined slightly between 2016 and 2021. At the same time, the percentage of Quebec residents whose first official language was English rose to 13 per cent from 12 per cent in the same period, Statistics Canada found.
However, Quebec's language watchdog published a study in April that found the use of French in public spaces, such as stores and restaurants, had remained stable since 2007.
Roberge said $18 million of the funding would be spent on a project with Quebec's statistics agency to publish regular data on language indicators in the province.
More than half the funding -- $320 million -- will be spent on programs to ensure temporary international workers speak and learn French.
Another $64.9 million will be dedicated to improving students' mastery of French through programs including those that promote reading, Education Minister Bernard Drainville said.
"We have to give our children a desire to speak French," he said, adding that teachers and school staff have a responsibility to encourage students to speak French in the classes, hallways and during extracurricular activities.
An amount of $187.3 million will be dedicated to increasing the "Francophone cultural offering" and making it more accessible. That will include funding for Quebec cultural productions, said the province's culture minister.
Mathieu Lacombe added he planned to table a bill that aims to "guarantee our fundamental rights to the access and discoverability of French-language cultural content in the digital environment."
Finally, the government will spend $12.8 million to strengthen Quebecers' attachment to the French language through initiatives such as French-language scientific publications and communications campaigns.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Millions of Canadians have been exposed to potentially toxic chemicals, and they're not going anywhere
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
Michael Cohen: A challenging star witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial
He once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump. Now Michael Cohen is prosecutors' biggest piece of legal ammunition in the former president's hush money trial.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
As Israel pushes deeper into Rafah, Hamas regroups elsewhere in ungoverned Gaza
Israeli forces were battling Palestinian militants across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including in parts of the devastated north that the military said it had cleared months ago, where Hamas has exploited a security vacuum to regroup.
Feds 'committed to doing more,' but minister offers no timeline for Canadian Disability Benefit boost
Amid significant criticism from advocates, Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities Minister Kamal Khera is defending her government's long-promised, newly unveiled Canada Disability Benefit, calling the funds an "initial step," but without laying out a timeline for future expansion of the program.
Balancing act: Canadian North’s first Inuk CEO juggles Arctic airline challenges
With carriers' flight volumes above the 60th parallel hovering below pre-pandemic levels, Canadian North’s first Inuk CEO now bears the task of balancing those financial and logistical challenges with the needs of communities for which she feels a deep affinity.
Thousands of civilians evacuated from northeast Ukraine as Russia presses renewed border assault
Thousands more civilians have fled Russia's renewed ground offensive in Ukraine's northeast that has targeted towns and villages with a barrage of artillery and mortar fire, officials said Sunday.