Study shows anglo representation in Quebec civil service still a blip
Despite years of efforts, the number of English-speaking Quebecers working for the Quebec government barely registers
QUEBEC — Despite years of promises, studies and initiatives by several governments, the number of English-speaking Quebecers in the Quebec civil service is still pathetically low, a new study reveals.
Hovering around one per cent way back in 1970, the figure is basically unchanged today, and that includes the Montreal region, which is home to most of Quebec’s anglophones, says the study produced by Concordia University’s Quebec EnglishSpeaking Communities Research Network.
Released Thursday, the study says the issue — which every government for the last 40 years has tried to tackle — is not going away and will require more research on the causes and effects. It also calls for actions tailored to the community instead of onesize-fits-all.
“While there has been a systematic acknowledgment and some effort to redress the underrepresentation of ethnic, cultural and visible minority populations in Quebec’s public service, there currently exists no specific plan of action when it comes to equity and increasing participation of English speakers in the public service,” the study concludes.
The numbers tell the story. In 1941, anglophones represented about 7.4 per cent of the civil service. By 1961 it was about four per cent, slipping to 1.6 per cent in 1965. The proportion has hovered around one per cent since the early 1970s.
As of March 2018, exactly one per cent of the 57,500 working in 20 departments and 65 agencies in Quebec were English mother tongue. Quebec has had more success recruiting members of cultural communities. They represented about 8.5 per cent of the public service in 2017.
Yet the jobs are there. In June 2018, the previous Liberal government estimated the Quebec government had 1,500 full and part time jobs available. Overall, it will need to fill 15,000 jobs with new employees during the next five years.
The findings did not come as a surprise to the parliamentary assistant to the premier for relations with English-speaking Quebecers, Christopher Skeete.
Skeete told reporters one issue he heard a lot about in his recent tour of the province is that Quebec anglophones discover their French language skills are not good enough to work in the government.
“We need to fix the level of French that English-speaking Quebecers have,” Skeete said. “The other issue is we’re (English-speaking Quebecers) not even thinking of applying a lot of times.
“I’m a political science graduate from Concordia. It never even occurred to me to apply to the Quebec government. I went straight to the federal department.
“We really have to work on both sides of the equation, the offer as well as the supply.”