Quebec unveils $603-million plan to protect French language

• Quebec is “going on the offensive” to protect and promote French, Minister Jean-françois Roberge said Sunday as he presented a $603-million plan to counter what he described as the language’s decline.

Roberge, the Quebec cabinet minister responsible for the French language, said the government’s nine priorities include better monitoring of language trends, boosting the French cultural offering and improving students’ mastery of French.

Several of the measures are linked to immigration, including increasing the percentage of economic immigrants who speak French and speeding up permanent residency for international students who graduate from francophone programs.

“It’s important to mention that we are no longer defending the French language,” Roberge told a news conference in Montreal. “We’re going on the offensive, no, not against anyone, but to regain lost ground and reverse the decline of French.”

The strategy unveiled Sunday includes 21 measures, some of which are already in place or have already been announced. Those include previously announced commitments to raise tuition by 30 per cent for out-of-province Canadians and force universities to ensure most of those students are proficient in French when they graduate. The government has also said it will impose stronger French-language requirements for temporary workers and permanent immigrants from the economic stream.

Roberge said the vitality of French in Quebec is being challenged by a number of factors including the growing numbers of non-frenchspeaking immigrants, the domination of mainly-english digital platforms and the number of students attending English universities.

Roberge spoke at the news conference alongside the provincial ministers from the immigration, culture, education, higher education, and international relations departments. They, and others, are part of a working group focusing on the future of French in Quebec.

He said the $603-million, five-year plan, unveiled during a “difficult budgetary context,” shows the government’s commitment to the French language.