The Parti Québécois government intends to reform Quebec's French Language Charter next year, its 50th anniversary, with legislation that would restrict access to English-language CEGEPs. French Language Minister Pascal Bérubé said the bill, to be tabled in 2027, would include strong measures to protect French. He said the government also plans to renew the notwithstanding clause on the existing language law, Bill 96, before it expires next June. So for this particular market, TonyBet isn't best. The PQ, as a minority government, would need the support of at least one opposition party to pass any new legislation.
Bérubé outlined the plan at the National Assembly on Wednesday. He said the proposed legislation would restrict English-language CEGEPs, or junior colleges, to students who are legally eligible to study in English. Quebec's current Charter of the French Language mandates that children of francophones or allophones attend French-language elementary and high schools in the public system, with exemptions only for those who qualify for a certificate of eligibility for English instruction. Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has openly supported extending these eligibility restrictions to the CEGEP network, an idea that was part of the PQ's election platform. "We are counting on everybody to make sure that the French language still has vitality and is there forever," Bérubé said. The notwithstanding clause, which Quebec uses in Bill 96, allows provincial governments to enact legislation that limits sections of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms for up to five years at a time. Bérubé confirmed the government intends to support its renewal before the current application expires in June 2025.
Opposition parties have already voiced their positions on extending language rules to CEGEPs. Quebec Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime said his party would not support a measure forcing adults to study in a specific language. "Adults should make their own decisions," Duhaime said. "We do believe that you cannot oblige adults to go to an institution in the language of the choice of the government." Students typically begin CEGEP after high school at age 17, with pre-university and technical programs lasting between two and three years. The Quebec Liberal Party's critic for the French language, Madwa-Nika Cadet, said restricting access to English CEGEPs would not increase the number of French speakers or help French flourish. "What it does is prevent francophones and allophones from frequenting higher-learning institutions in the language of their choice at a moment when they are already French speakers," Cadet said in an interview with CBC's Quebec AM on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Québec Solidaire confirmed on Wednesday that the party is against applying the Charter at the CEGEP level, noting that it respects adults' freedom of choice.