Quebec Liberals Call To Investigate Closures Of French-Language Classes For Newcomers

The Quebec Liberal Party is calling for an investigation after reports that some French-language training courses for newcomers have been cancelled.

The party’s official opposition critic for immigration, French language classes and integration says he sent a letter to the province’s French language commissioner to “ensure that the right to French learning services” is being respected.

The Liberals are blaming the Coalition Avenir Quebec government’s budgetary decisions for the closures, adding immigrants will have a harder time becoming fluent in French and integrating into Quebec society without the classes.

In several interviews this week, Quebec’s Immigration Minister Jean-Francois Roberge blamed school service centres for the closures, saying his government has actually increased budgets for French-language courses.

The Quebec government has also come under fire from Ottawa, with federal Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos saying on Friday that the $750 million the federal government is spending to help the province with newcomers is not being “fully used.”

The closures come at a time of increased demand for the classes, with Quebec currently hosting around 600,000 temporary immigrants.