Legault government unwilling to further soften rules for Indigenous CEGEP students

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QUEBEC — Two Quebec cabinet ministers said Wednesday that the government has tried to make arrangements so Indigenous CEGEP students who lack French skills are not penalized by the province’s language laws.

But they appeared unwilling to go further in softening the rules — including much criticized application forms — despite a letter to Premier François Legault from the directors of five English CEGEPs who say exemptions offered to Indigenous students are insufficient.

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“We offered solutions, we are very sensitive to this issue,” Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry told reporters arriving at the legislature. “I know accessibility to higher education is a problem. We really want them to succeed, my concern is for them to succeed.”

“These (measures) are a Plan B,” added the Minister for Relations with the First Nations and the Inuit, Ian Lafrenière. “Our Plan A was a bill specifically designed for language and culture for Indigenous people. This was not the plan chosen by the AFNQL (Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador).

“Our intention is to make sure students get access to schools and a higher education.”

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The ministers were reacting to a new video featuring heartfelt testimonials of Indigenous CEGEP students released Wednesday in which they say Bill 96’s French language requirements are causing hardship for Indigenous students who mostly studied in English in elementary and high schools.

They said the rules are causing some to leave the province for their higher education. The video is accompanied by a letter to Legault signed by the five English CEGEP directors asking him and various ministers to sit down with Indigenous community leaders to find ways to minimize the harm of Bill 96.

Quebec’s response was swift, with the government arguing it has offered exemptions from the French exit exams (but not the French course requirements). Not every Indigenous student qualifies.

To qualify, students — in addition to having a status card and studying in the English CEGEP — also have to have lived or are living on a reserve plus studied in English or an Indigenous language for at least one year in elementary or high school.

To prove this, students have to produce a certificate of school attendance. The certificate must indicate the period when the student received the education and specifically in which language.

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For some, just filling out the form is offensive. They call it invasive and a throwback to colonial times. They also note the exemptions are not entrenched in the law, which means they could be repealed.

Lafrenière and Déry argued, however, that the CEGEPs themselves have a responsibility to better accompany students in the process. The government also recently argued that the difficulties English CEGEPs are having in applying the law shows it was necessary.

Asked about the forms many don’t want to fill out, Déry was unwavering.

“The establishments are aware that there are exemptions available so for the moment the forms will stay,” she said. “We will accompany them (students). The institutions know the forms exist so we ask them to correctly inform the students.

“On our side we have a team specifically in place to transmit the information and ensure Indigenous students know they have to proceed to be exempted.”

Later, an aide disputed the statement from CEGEPs that the form students have to fill out is six pages long. The document is six pages but there are not six pages to complete, the aide said.

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Déry insisted Indigenous students are already exempted from the French exit exams (if they fill out the forms) and that the French courses they are obliged to take are being tailored to their level of French, which means basic.

Lafrenière conceded the government knew the exemption route, which he calls Plan B, would not be simple but he seemed unwilling to go further beyond referring the issue to Déry.

“As soon as we presented Bill 96 we knew there would be some challenges,” he said.

The government has not heard the final word from Quebec’s Indigenous communities as the legislature winds towards its summer recess Friday.

Ghislain Picard, the chief of the AFNQL, will present a “report card” on the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s record with the First Nations.

pauthier@postmedia.com

twitter.com/philipauthier

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