Fréchette’s Bill 101 plan may set stage for clash with English school boards

New premier has vowed to extend Charter of the French Language to adult and vocational education.

Quebec’s new premier is reviving a long-standing nationalist grievance: that a gap in the Charter of the French Language allows tens of thousands of immigrants and other non-anglophones to study in English, undermining efforts to make French the common language of public life.

Premier Christine Fréchette pledged to extend the charter to adult and vocational education during the Coalition Avenir Québec leadership campaign and repeated it in her victory speech Sunday.

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Sylvia Martin-Laforge, director general of TALQ, said the anglophone rights group is waiting for details.

“We are concerned about any further extension of Bill 101,” she said. Expanding the charter’s scope could have implications for the English-speaking community and for Quebec businesses that rely on graduates of vocational programs, Martin-Laforge said.