Allison Hanes: En français uniquement for English parents

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A French-only information session for parents of special needs students attending English public schools in Quebec turned out to be the latest blow to the rights of Quebec’s anglophone community under Bill 96.

Last week, the English Parents’ Committee Association organized a webinar with officials from the Ministry of Education so they could explain the programming and pathways available to children with cognitive disabilities and learning challenges, including autism. A parallel event was held for parents in the French school system in March that was spearheaded by the Fédération des comités de parents du Québec.

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But when the ministry expert appeared online to address the English parents, she forged ahead in French only.

Katherine Korakakis, president of the EPCA, said she was floored.

“The lady says ‘Well, the slides are going to be in English, but the presentation is going to be in French.’ And I’m so shocked, that I’m stunned into silence. If you know me, this doesn’t happen. I was first of all embarrassed, shocked, I didn’t know what to do,” Korakakis recalled of the situation. “So then I’m getting messages (in the chat) from parents, like blaming me, like ‘Oh you said the presentation was going to be in English.’ ‘I don’t understand.’ ‘When is the English portion going to start?’ At a certain point, I have to say something. So I stop her and I say ‘I’m sorry, this is supposed to be in English.’ And then she says — I’m paraphrasing, here — ‘We’d like to give it in English, but by law, we can’t.’”

Korakakis wanted to avoid a scene and salvage the event for the parents, so after some back and forth she eventually suggested moving directly to the question-and-answer session. This, she said, was conducted in English, without issue. The ministry official was fluent, so it’s not like there was a language barrier.

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“I felt so blindsided and so sad because it’s the first time something like this has happened,” said Korakakis, who has always had a good working relationship with the education ministry, is perfectly bilingual herself, and has never experienced this kind of roadblock before.

What bothered her most was that parents were denied the opportunity to learn about the options available to their children in the English school system.

“It’s the most vulnerable parents. It’s special needs parents. They have a lot on their shoulders already,” she said. “At the end of the day I just want to give parents information so they can make informed decisions. That’s it. I don’t want to play a political game.”

Bill 96, which was adopted in 2022 to strengthen protections for the French language, set new ground rules for who has the right to access public services in English, be it at city hall or the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec. But despite the repeated assurances of Premier François Legault that the rights of English-speaking Quebecers would not be affected, especially in health care and education, there have been several nasty surprises.

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A son was forced to have his father’s death certificate, issued by the Quebec government in English, translated into French to settle the estate. An elderly woman was hung up on by the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec, even thought she qualified for assistance in English, ostensibly because medical insurance isn’t considered health care. Anglophone students who graduated from French public schools have been denied eligibility certificates by bureaucrats who claimed they forfeited their rights to English education.

Government websites feature warnings about who is permitted to consult the content or receive public services in English. To recap, it’s: Quebecers who previously obtained public services in English; people who have the right to English schooling; Indigenous Peoples and the Inuit; and new immigrants who have been here less than six months. Public servants are supposed to rely on the “good faith” of those seeking English services.

But the refusal to deliver a presentation in English to the parents of English schoolchildren seems to be a blatant contravention of the exceptions laid out in Bill 96, now rebranded Bill 14. All those taking part in the forum would have already proven their right to services in English when they obtained eligibility certificates for their kids.

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Joe Ortona, who is both chair of the English Montreal School Board and president of the Quebec English School Boards Association, called the incident an “outrage.”

“This is exactly the opposite of what the government said the law would do. They reassured us that the English-speaking community rightsholders would continue to receive the services from the government in English,” he said. “These were parents of children in an English public school — everybody understands that. What people either don’t know or don’t care, is that these people are entitled to services in English. These are people whose constitutionally protected rights just keep getting thrown in the garbage because this government completely disregards constitutional rights.”

Whether civil servants are clueless about how Bill 96 is supposed to be applied or feel empowered to override the rights of English-speakers anyway, Ortona called the incident “unacceptable.”

“This never should have been allowed to happen. And it’s their responsibility to make sure that when they’re sending people to provide services to the English-speaking community, that they know what the rules are and they know that they’re supposed to be providing services in English,” Ortona said. “This government owes us an apology – and not just for this. They owe us an apology for what they’ve done in the last five years.”

Speaking to reporters in Quebec City, Minister of the French Language Jean-François Roberge said his office is investigating whether Bill 96 was correctly interpreted in this case.

“I’ve heard about this situation, but I don’t have all the information,” he said. “I don’t have any comment right now because I have to make more verifications.”

Education Minister Bernard Drainville’s office has not yet responded to The Gazette’s inquiries.

But how could this possible be allowed? How would refusing basic information in English to the parents of special needs students at English schools help protect French? If the government determines this is OK under Bill 96, then the law is a farce.

ahanes@postmedia.com

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