The PLQ unveils its “plan for French”

The leader of the PLQ wants to inject an additional $380 million to make French “the lever of our success.” This plan, unveiled on Tuesday, places particular emphasis on reading, the Frenchization of newcomers and the fight against illiteracy, as well as the support of French-speaking culture and content.

“No political party in Quebec has a monopoly on the defense of French,” said the leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), Charles Milliard, at a press conference on Tuesday.

He deplored that the defense of French had until now been approached, according to him, “from the angle of prohibition and constraint”. “We cannot instill a real love of a language by pointing fingers, prohibiting it and raising it as a barrier,” he insisted.

Conversely, he recommends a “unifying” approach, to avoid making French a “vector of division”.

Concretely, he proposes to make reading a “national priority” by devoting more than a quarter of his budget of 380 million to it. This would support access to books among young people, but also among seniors. For example, he wishes to offer a Quebec book to primary school students at the end of each school year and in the process give a “boost” to Quebec children’s literature.

He also wants to increase francization budgets, to reduce waiting times for new arrivals.

At the same time, he wishes to “reassure Quebecers” and maintain the ceiling for the current proportion of students enrolled in English-speaking CEGEPs, i.e. around 15%. “College networks will be able to grow at the same pace, but without one developing to the detriment of the other,” he explained.

It also plans to implement “targeted territorial strategies” in “geographical areas where French is weakened”, such as in downtown Montreal. The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) will also be mandated to carry out a study on this subject.

In these “zones”, measures could be put in place, such as “franchization initiatives for businesses, professional mentoring programs or French visibility initiatives,” said Madwa-Nika Cadet, the PLQ spokesperson for the French language.

“Rather than asking them to play the police unduly, we are going to make them carry out constructive projects,” said Charles Milliard about the OQLF, adding that “there is sometimes zeal that is shown on certain files” that the organization deals with. He notably mentioned the “Go Habs Go” affair on STM buses or that of the front of the Burgundy Lion Pub – where the OQLF had asked the restaurant owner to add French to his sign. “It made no sense,” he insisted, promising a “change of style” if he was elected.