Quebec government can’t keep up with French-language program demands: new school says

Many immigrants are turning towards the private sector to learn French after the Quebec government cut the funding for the francization program.

The demand is so high that one teacher decided to take matters into their own hands and start their own school.

“I receive hundreds of calls. The phone never stops ringing!” said Arnaud Hétu. “I worked for the Quebec government in adult francization, and I started my business in the context of cutbacks and the difficulties that many students had in finding a school. If the government is not able to provide, it takes initiatives that come from outside the government.”

He created the Lingua Franca school – which will officially open its doors in January.

“Since classes have closed and students have lost their places, we are here for them. Those who are in the system are safe, but it is hell for the others. And it is going to be more and more difficult, because the delays are not going to go down, they are just going to go up.”

Hétu said he blames the Ministry of Immigration, Francization and Integration (MIFI), which he considers “completely dysfunctional.”

He also accused the CAQ government of being “completely out of step.”

“The structure is very cumbersome. There are immense bureaucratic barriers.”

He tried to get a “public-private partnership” with the MIFI, but his request was refused “because it is private.”

“Since they don’t want to form new partnerships, I think it’s one more barrier. If we changed the rules, things would be much better, they would be more effective,” he believes.

“Review your ministerial rules and allow public-private partnerships for francization. Let us stop seeing it as hermetic, because then we lose the game. We must be consistent, because the goal, ultimately, is to ensure that these people can learn French.”

Hétu added that, “in our political culture, we are cautious about everything that is private. It is almost blasphemous. But this image is not adapted to today’s context, at least in French.”

According to him, another logical solution would be to resort to the private sector from an economic point of view.

“The fact that the government is not open to going further means that we pay more because there is no competition among French-language establishments,” said Hétu.

He said he’s going to offer give similar courses for half the price, while still offering a personalized service. 

CLIC Montréal is the oldest language school in Quebec. The owner, Mikaël Bouchereau said hat he agrees with Hétu’s comments.

“The process was very well-oiled. Since MIFI was set up, the approval process has been extremely long and there is really a lot of unnecessary bureaucracy. There is no structure at MIFI, they are not well organized. They are overwhelmed by events,” he said. “There is a really long wait for approval, which frustrates companies that want to Frenchify their employees. Instead of waiting six to nine months for the MIFI to release a budget, they pay out of their own pocket. Companies are therefore reducing their budget and training fewer people, which has an impact on them.”

The ministry claims that the average delay sits at two months between the time the company makes its request and the start of the training.

Bouchereau said he receives “a lot of calls” from companies, without identifying them, but said that they are well known to the general public.

Newcomers themselves also contact him in the hope of receiving courses, “but unfortunately we cannot help them because we cannot offer courses for free.”

“We get a lot of calls from newcomers who want subsidized classes, but don’t know where to go. They don’t know the process, they’re confused, they’re lost. We try to do the best we can to guide them, even though it’s not our job to do that.”

Bouchereau also denounced the fact that the MIFI redirects its clients to the School Service Centres.

“So, the money stays in the government and the quality is really not the same, the conditions are not the same, the flexibility is not the same. It’s not ideal.”

MIFI spokesperson Gabriel Bélanger said that “francization services in the workplace have been continuously improving since their implementation, particularly since the implementation of contractual management on June 1, 2024.”

Since that date, Francisation Québec “must work in contractual management with companies on one side and training partners on the other. We can no longer outsource this responsibility to the company that itself chose and directly contracted a training partner.”

The Legault said that “the demand that has exploded” since the establishment of Francisation Québec in June 2023, which has led to a slowdown of services. 

“There is a real craze for francization in Quebec. Although capacities are increasing, the demand is even stronger and consequently leads to a wait for the services of Francisation Québec,” said Bélanger.

The ministry assures that it “is making efforts to improve its services so that it can meet the needs of its customers” and announced that “a project is underway to develop an online francization offering at the beginner stage allowing independent learning.”

During the first year of Francisation Québec, from June 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024, 76,921 people were served.

However, 65,790 were served between June 1 and October 31, 2024.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews