Parents of children with disabilities denied English presentation by Quebec Education Ministry staff

Some English-speaking parents of children who have learning difficulties are upset after Quebec bureaucrats presented an information session about training programs in French only.

The online presentation on April 11 was specifically for a group of parents whose children are attending English-language schools.

In a recording of the online meeting obtained by CBC News, two public servants say they aren't allowed to give the presentation in English under Quebec's new language law. However, the slides of the presentation were written in English, to the confusion of parents who flooded the online chat with questions.

Commonly known as Bill 96, the law requires members of the public service to make "exemplary use" of French by limiting the use of English in the courts and by civil servants. It also imposes stricter language requirements on small businesses, municipalities and CEGEPs. Most of the law's provisions came into effect in June 2023.

Speaking in French, one public servant said in the meeting, "I would like to do it in English, but the law currently does not allow it."

"It doesn't make me happy personally either, but that's how it is. We're not allowed to give presentations in English," the same public servant said.

Yet, the bureaucrats held the question period in both of Canada's official languages.

Sara Hossaini — one of the parents in attendance who expected the entire information session to be in English — said in an interview that the experience left her frustrated.

"There was valuable information being shared, and we couldn't get it. We were excluded," she said.

Hossaini said she wants to provide the best for her autistic son, but being refused English explanations of information relevant to his education was an "additional hurdle."

Eligible English speakers must request service

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Education Ministry said in an email the ministry is preparing a directive to "clarify the conditions and circumstances allowing its staff members to use languages other than the official language in this type of situation."

Jean-François Roberge, the minister of the French language, said at the National Assembly on Tuesday he was unaware of the details of the meeting and would have to look into the issue. 

Provincial and municipal government bodies in Quebec can serve someone in English if a person has been declared eligible to go to English-language school in Quebec, if they are First Nations or Inuit, if they immigrated to Quebec in the last six months or if they had an English-only file with that specific government body before May 13, 2021.

Someone who thinks they meet one of these requirements must request service in English, said Rebecca Schur, a lawyer and plain language specialist at Éducaloi.

"Until they do, provincial and municipal government bodies usually have to communicate in French by default," Schur said in an email.

English-language school boards have special status and are allowed to "communicate with people in English even if they don't meet any of these requirements," Schur noted.

Embarrassing for province, QESBA president says

Joe Ortona, Quebec English School Boards Association president and chair of the English Montreal School Board (EMSB) said parents have a right to demand answers from the government.

The EMSB is suing Quebec over the law requiring almost all the board's communications to be written in French.

Ortona called the incident "another example of an ill-conceived law that demonstrates that an analysis wasn't done to see what the effects were."

"Do we really have to embarrass ourselves as a province in this way before somebody just applies basic common sense?" Ortona said. "These are people from the English-speaking community."

Weighing in on the issue, interim Quebec Liberal Leader Marc Tanguay said Tuesday that if the government confirms the law was interpreted correctly during the information session, then the incident can be added to "the pile" of negative effects of Bill 96.

"The important piece of information that was provided to the parents for kids with special needs should be understandable for the parents," Tanguay told reporters, saying that if presenting information in English is necessary for parents' understanding, "it should be done."

"At the end of the day, it's to provide very key information for our kids," Tanguay said.