Indigenous students say Quebec’s language law sets them up for ‘failure’

Indigenous students at Quebec’s English-language CEGEPs are speaking out about changes to their post-secondary education under the province’s language reform, warning they are being set up for “failure.”

The directors of five English CEGEPS — John Abbott, Champlain Saint-Lambert, Heritage, Vanier and Dawson — issued Wednesday a video where students from different communities describe their experiences.

They also published a letter outlining their concerns and asking for the Quebec government to do “deeper consultations” with Indigenous communities and find solutions.

Quebec’s sweeping language law, known as Bill 96, aims to bolster the French language in the province. It was adopted in May 2022, though the provisions have come into effect in waves within post-secondary schools.

Bill 96 limits enrolment at anglophone junior colleges and mandates those students take more French classes to graduate.

Under the legislation, CEGEP students without an English eligibility certificate, which gives them the right to enroll in anglophone elementary and high schools, must also pass a French exit exam.

The five CEGEPs argue Bill 96 has “harmful and unjust effects” on Indigenous students, many of whom arrive at “English colleges with low-level French or no French.” Many of them also do not have an English eligibility certificate from Quebec’s Education Ministry.

“There are an estimated 300 or so Indigenous students in the anglophone CEGEPs in Quebec, which is higher than ever before. Subjecting them to Law 14 creates a significant barrier for these students to access post-secondary education,” the letter reads.

Cameron Biron studies at John Abbott College on the western tip of Montreal. She is from the small Cree community of Wemindji on the