Parents, educators in Park-Ex worried about Bill 96 send open letter to Quebec’s French language minister

Parents and educators in Montreal’s Park-Extension neighbourhood are calling out Quebec’s language law Bill 96 for not considering the needs of immigrant communities.

They say the legislation will have a negative impact on families and students’ education.

“There are so many people that love the language, and the language is something worth loving and you don’t need to legislate that,” said Rachel Shugart, a teacher and parent. “Not the way that this is being done anyway.”

“Many challenges for these parents that just want to help their children, but they can’t because they don’t know the language,” added community worker Ghislaine Paiement. “So in a school system, it means that they won’t get the information. When you have a report card, you won’t be able to follow up on your child’s challenges or success.”

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Bill 96, which is expected to pass this month, would impose tougher language requirements on workplaces and municipalities.

It also seeks to limit the use of English in the courts and public services, grant powers of search and seizure without a warrant to Quebec’s language regulator and cap enrolment at English CEGEPs, where students would have to take more courses in French.

Opponents in the province’s English-speaking community have been vocal about the bill, saying it is discriminatory and will have repercussions in many sectors like business and health care.

#WATCH: "It will be very, very hard," said Komal Malhotra, parent and volunteer at Barthélemy-Vimont elementary school in Park-Extension on how Bill 96 will effect how teachers communicate with some parents. Malhotra translates for parents and teachers daily. pic.twitter.com/rKsyCtCanN

— Brittany Henriques (@BritHenriques) May 22, 2022

“This will be legalized,” said parent Komal Malhotra. “It will be a very, very hard test. You know, things that the students, teachers and parents will be facing. It’s not only about students and parents. It will be teachers also because they are not able to talk to them.

“I am learning French, but I can say that it’s not an easy job because there are many things that are going in your mind already. It’s not easy to learn a language. And then, yes, we started understanding. But when it comes to writing, speaking, it takes time.”

Mothers, intervention workers and staff at Barthélemy-Vimont elementary school in Park-Ex wrote a letter to Quebec’s minister responsible for the French language, Simon Jolin-Barrette.

They hope the government will review the requirements that newly arrived families need to be able to communicate only in French six months after their arrival in Quebec.

“It’s just really frustrating to see that instead of just improving access to the courses, giving more, broadening the amount of people that are eligible to receive that subsidies so they can survive, so they can feed their families and rent an apartment while they’re taking full-time French classes,” said Shugart.

READ: Pro-Bill 96 protesters share concerns of anglicisation of Montreal, death of French language

There have been many protests this month involving those opposing Bill 96.

“If you really think that French is important and it is true, it is very true. That is important,” said Paiement. “But it’s how we go about making them want to learn French because imposing something doesn’t make it easier. Imposing something doesn’t make me want to learn.

“They want to. But the challenge is they do not have conditions that help them to make this period of their life very easy. And they have many stress. Their stress level is so high and the depression rate is really high.”

CityNews reached out to the ministry for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Quebec is expected to approve Bill 96 later this week.