The Quebec government is seeking ways to help newly arrived refugees learn French as quickly as possible.
Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil met with organizations dealing with refugees Tuesday and said they will have access to French lessons very quickly after they land in Quebec.
Weil said they will receive lessons in a full-time class setting within 45 days.
Along with Weil, Education Minister Francois Blais met with refugees and community groups at CEGEP Sainte-Foy in Quebec City to talk about life in Quebec so far and spoke with organizations about how they are dealing with ensuring people are settled.
Afterwards, the group sat in on a French class to see what it would entail for those arriving.
Weil said she believes access to lessons is crucial and they should come right after a few other priorities.
“The very first thing is that they find housing, that the kids are registered at school and that the adults are registered in a French-language class and then the next steps are to find employment, but to speak the language is crucial,” she said.
As many as 7,300 Syrian refugees are expected in the province this year, with Montreal housing the vast majority of them.
