With the halt to new enrolment, teachers are losing their jobs, while students say the program helped them integrate into the community.
The Centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys (CSSMB) is no longer accepting new students in its francization courses, making some teachers question whether the program will disappear altogether.
Twelve teachers have already lost their positions across the CSSMB’s four adult-education centres, they wrote to The Gazette.
“They cannot say that this (program) is over forever because it’s just too shocking for my colleagues. But I’m not very optimistic,” said Victorine Michalon, who lost her teaching job at the Outremont adult-education centre in the last round of cuts.
Michalon, and a colleague who wishes to remain anonymous, worry teachers will continue to lose jobs throughout the year as student cohorts graduate from the francization program every two months.
For instance, Michalon’s colleague will lose their position in December when their beginner French class advances to the next level. All current francization students at CEA Outremont will graduate by the end of 2025, according to the two teachers.
Part of the concern seems to be funding from the provincial government.
“There was still some ambiguity about the funding available. We, therefore, planned our offer on the basis of the funding measures,” the CSSMB told The Gazette. “At present, we do not know what solutions the MEQ (Ministère de l’Éducation) or the MIFI (Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration) have in mind to make up for the shortfall.”
The Quebec Liberal Party is calling for an investigation after reports some French-language training courses for newcomers have been cancelled.
The party’s official opposition critic for immigration, French language classes and integration says he sent a letter to the province’s French language commissioner to “ensure that the right to French learning services” is being respected.
The Liberals are blaming the Coalition Avenir Quebec government’s budgetary decisions for the closings, adding immigrants will have a harder time becoming fluent in French and integrating into Quebec society without the classes.
The closings come at a time of increased demand for the classes, with Quebec currently hosting about 600,000 temporary immigrants.
For 31-year-old Asli Vatansever, a UX designer and student at the adult-education centre in Outremont, the halt on enrolment is devastating.
“It was a nice way to find a community … being surrounded by immigrants learning French. And you’re learning the culture here, too,” said Vatansever, who moved to Montreal from Turkey four years ago. She will complete the francization program in December and fully credits it for her intermediate level of French. “I can speak slowly. I already start to understand people.”
Embracing Quebec’s culture was part of Vatansever’s motivation to learn French, but her main drive was bureaucratic pressure. “I always wanted to learn French. But the main reason was for applying” for work in public relations.
MNA Jean-François Roberge, the minister of Immigration, Francization and Integration who manages MIFI, denies the program might be cancelled. The ministry stated it has spent an additional $40 million this year alone on the Francisation Québec program, jumping to $251 million from $217 million over the past year. “We’re francizing more than ever. We have no intention of cutting francization; quite the contrary. Our objective is to continue to increase the offer, diversify it and look for new partners,” it wrote in a statement to The Gazette.
Michalon suspects the government is trying to cut corners and says the francization teachers’ working conditions are less stable than those employed by the Ministry of Education.
According to president of the Syndicat des professeurs de l’État du Québec, Jean Vallières, there are 250 permanent MIFI teachers, compared with 500 non-permanent or part-time ones. Teaching contracts are three months long and non-permanent teachers’ holiday pay is 20 per cent of their wage. He says the union is in negotiation with the government to improve working conditions for MIFI teachers, but the salary and working conditions are comparable to teachers employed by the education ministry.
The Gazette reached out to the MIFI for a response to these claims, but did not receive a response by Friday evening.
Justin Trudeau’s Quebec lieutenant, Jean-Yves Duclos, denounced the ending of new enrolment at the dozen francization schools across the province, according to the Canadian Press. “Classes must not be closed,” he said while at Université Laval on Friday. He added the $750 million the federal government is spending to help the province with newcomers is not being “fully used.”
The Centre de services scolaire de Montréal, which manages the majority of the francization language schools across Montreal, would not answer if it has plans to stop enrolment and cut classes. “Our service offering will be coherent with the funding received for francization by the Ministry of Education.”
At least 150 union members in the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) have lost their jobs because of the reduction in francization services, according to a CSQ spokesperson.
The CAQ government’s reassurance about expanding the francization program contrasts sharply with the sweeping staff cuts across the province, leading to confusion among teachers.
“What is the problem M. Roberge would like to solve?” Michalon asked. “And how will he do it?”
Vatansever is disappointed her teachers at the language school will be out of a job, since she revered the quality of education at the Outremont school.
“I was recommending (this) specific school actually to my friends,” she said. “This program (was) really helpful for me.”
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.