WEEKLY UPDATE

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From the desk of Director General Sylvia Martin-Laforge, the Weekly Update keeps our Network leaders and members up to date on the advocacy, policy, legislative, public education, and social activities of the Quebec Community Groups Network. It also includes news about upcoming QCGN member and community events, as well as information on funding and other opportunities. Send comments and suggestions to communications@qcgn.ca.

Meet and greet with Minister Boissonnault  

On Tuesday, Board Secretary and Treasurer Grant Myers and I travelled to Ottawa to meet with the new Minister of Official Languages Randy Boissonnault. We had a cordial meeting discussing the current and ongoing challenges faced by Quebec's Official Language Minority Community. We told the Minister that we are deeply worried about the government of Quebec's upcoming Action Plan to promote and protect the French language. The first salvo of that plan is Quebec's recent move to hike tuition fees for out-of-province students and the impact that will have on Bishop's, McGill, and Concordia universities – three venerable institutions that were created and maintained by our community for generations. We told the Minister that these institutions are essential to the vitality of our communities on and off the Island of Montreal. We also discussed our concerns about federal transfer payments for minority-language education and provincial services in the minority language. We strongly believe these agreements must contain linguistic clauses to ensure transparency and accountability on how federal monies are used to support English-speaking Quebecers. This is pertinent given that the new Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028: Protection-Promotion-Collaboration is moving towards providing more official-language funding via transfers to provincial governments. We reiterated that no decision about us should be made without us – emphasizing the need for both levels of government to consult with our community. We also invite Minister Boissonnault to come and visit our Board or Directors and community leaders. 

Quebecers say no to tuition fee hikes 

More and more Quebecers are decrying a government plan to hike tuition fees for out-of-province students. English-speaking Quebecers are fully opposed the Coalition Avenir Québec government's plan because of the undue impact it will have on our English-language universities. In Lennoxville on Monday, it was a true town and gown event as hundreds of students, academics, socioeconomic leaders and community folks packed Centennial Theatre for a display of strong and enthusiastic support for Bishop's battle against the hikes. It is truly comforting to see that many French-speaking Quebecers share our concerns about the impact this policy will have on Quebec's economy and social cohesion. 

Among those who waded into the tuition debate today was former federal Justice Minister David Lametti, also a former law professor at McGill. In a post on Linkedin, Lametti said he was "dumbfounded" by the "extreme tuition hikes" that will be disproportionately borne by McGill, Concordia and Bishop's. He said the policy will do nothing to address chronic underfunding for Quebecer universities, especially in francophone universities and do nothing to protect the French language. Furthermore, "it creates a huge impediment to attracting the best and the brightest to Quebec in a period when Quebec needs to attract and promote the best minds in the world for its research and innovation-industrial sectors to not be left behind by the green economic revolution. It is hard to conceived of a worse piece of economic and social policy." 

I invite you to read this letter in the Sherbrooke Record from Donald Warnholtz, president of Townshippers' Association as well as this letter addressed to Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry from a Record reader. I also invite you to keep an eye on the Daily Briefing for full coverage of this issue and how it affects English-speaking Quebecers and to keep our Director of Communications Rita Legault apprised of other letters and actions taken on this important issue. 

QCGN to host webinar on Bill 15 

Next Wednesday evening the Quebec Community Groups Network will host a webinar on Bill 15, An Act to make the health and social services system more effective. Still at the detailed study stage, Bill 15 aims to centralize the management of health care throughout the province under a single government-controlled agency entitled Santé Québec.

The Bill, which contains some 1130 articles modifying some 30 existing foundational laws, is a major reform of the health and social services system. Its stated purpose is to put in place a more effective system, facilitate access to services, enhance coordination of the different components of the system and bring communities closer to decisions related to the organization and provision of services. However, numerous health care advocates say it will have the opposite effect and English-speaking leaders have said it could erode access to health and social services in English.  

Last week, six former Quebec Premiers across party lines came together to oppose the massive centralization of Quebec's health care system. Echoing concerns of health care advocated and the English-speaking community, the letter to Premier François Legault was signed by former Quebec Liberal Premiers Philippe Couillard, Jean Charest and Daniel Johnson as well as former PQ Premiers Lucien Bouchard, Pierre Marc Johnson and Pauline Marois. The premier argued "the merger of hospitals and university medical institutions into a newly created state corporation will have a significant negative impact on these institutions, which play an essential role in Quebec society."    

The webinar will be held next Wednesday, November 8 between 6 and 7 p.m. To receive a secure link to attend, please register here. The link will be sent to all participants ahead of the online event.   

Mark your calendars for QCGN Holiday Party 

As snowflakes began to fall this week, our thoughts turned to the coming holiday season. I am excited to share with all our members that the QCGN's Holiday Breakfast and Open House will be back in full force this year. I invite everyone to save the date for December 13, from 8 a.m. till noon. 

Before the COVID-19 public health crisis, our annual holiday event was the place to share greetings with QCGN members as well as community and political stakeholders during the festive season. While a scaled back version of our holiday breakfast did take place last year, this year we are renewing the full tradition by welcoming everyone to celebrate with us back at our home. And this year, as we integrate individual members into our family, we are inviting everyone to bring along a friend. 

2023 was, again, a challenging year for our community. It gave us cause to reflect on what it means to be an English-speaking Quebecer. It is vital for us to come together this holiday season to gather as a community and celebrate our shared identity. 

There is plenty of work to do between now and December 13. If you would like to participate in our ad-hoc planning committee to contact Maggie Severs, our Manager, Membership Services and Community Engagement. For anybody who wants to get involved we will hold a planning meeting for next Monday, November 6 at noon. 

QCGN presents brief on Early Learning and Child Care Bill 

The province of Quebec is a national and international leader in early learning and child care. But while it has demonstrated the societal benefits of providing affordable services, not all segments of Quebec society have benefitted equally from these programs. English-speaking Quebecers – especially those who can least afford it – continue to face challenges accessing inclusive and high-quality early learning and child-care programs and services regardless of where they live. That was one of the QCGN's main messages I brought to the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technololgy as I testified on behalf of Quebec's English-speaking community for study on Bill C-35 Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act. The proposed legislation sets out the Government of Canada's commitment to maintaining long-term funding for early learning and child care to be provided to the provinces and Indigenous peoples and creates the National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care. I also told the Senators that that the Government of Canada has a responsibility to assist Quebec in closing gaps, especially as they affect English-speaking community. Furthermore, we pointed out that the Government of Canada has new obligations under the Official Languages Act to consult with and take more clearly defined positive measures to enhance the vitality of Canada's English and French linguistic minority communities. Read our brief and view our testimony. 

Next Monday, November 6, the QCGN is scheduled to appear before the House Standing Committee on Official Languages for a study it is conduction on matters relating to minority-language health services. That committee will be looking at a broad range of issues including the inclusion of language clauses in federal health transfers; access to minority-language health services for vulnerable communities; the shortage of health professionals in public and private facilities serving official language minority communities and the language skills of health care personnel in these facilities; as well as the needs for research, evidence and solutions to foster access to health care in the language of one's choice. You can view testimony on ParlVu between 5 and 8 p.m.  

Reminder: Last chance to register for Education and Vitality Forum  

The Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network (QUESCREN) is holding a two-day Education and Vitality Forum this Thursday and Friday (November 2-3) focusing on the needs of Quebec's English-language education system.  

The event will bring together dozens of researchers, education practitioners, community stakeholders and policymakers to share and research findings, real-world experiences, and practical strategies for a strong and sustainable English-Language education community. Considering the government's recent decision to appeal a Superior Court decision that declared sections of Bill 40 abolishing English school boards invalid, as well as Bill 23, which aims to further entrench upon our community's right to control and manage our schools, this conference comes at an opportune time to provide English-speaking Quebecers with a clearer understanding of the issues at play. 

The forum kicks off Thursday morning at 9:15 with a keynote address by Russell Copeman, Executive Director, Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) on the Vital Importance of Control and Management of Our School System by Our Community. Among the speakers will be QCGN's Stephen Thompson who will be on a panel Friday morning at 10:45 discussing Minority Language Educational Rights with Thérèse Nguyen from Statistics Canada and Richard Bourhis from l'Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).  

The event takes place at the Concordia University Conference Centre (9th Floor of the John Molson Building, 1450 Guy St., Montreal). Some events will be livestreamed. Learn more about the forum and find the registration link in the QCGN Community Calendar or visit their the forum website for complete details. 

This is the third Forum convened by the Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network (QUESCREN) on community vitality and education. The Forum is organized by a program committee consisting of members of QUESCREN's Inter-Level Educational Table (ILET), which includes representatives of Quebec's English-language educational institutions and associations, community groups, and the public sector.  

Thank you for reading our regular newsletter. For up-to-date news about the Quebec Community Groups Network you can visit our website at www.qcgn.ca or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram.

Quebec Community Groups Network

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The QCGN is funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage.