Quebec moves to tighten English-language education laws
The Quebec government wants to make it tougher for students to gain admission to English public schools. Bill 103 proposes a new system for admission into the English public school system: under the new system, families would have to explain to the ministry of education why their child should be educated in English. “You have to look at the context of the family,” explained education minister Michelle Courchesne. “Why would a family choose an Anglophone school? Is there a specific reason why a father and a mother would make that decision?” Students would also be able to gain admission ‘points’ for each year spent in an English private school, but the bill doesn’t set out a specific amount of time a student would have to spend in the private English system before being able to transfer to the public system. The Parti Québécois has lashed out at the bill, claiming there should be no opportunity for non-Anglophones to study in English public schools. On the other side, some English speakers are unhappy with the effort to toughen up language laws in the province.