Latest news with #FrenchLanguage
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
RCMP union challenges bilingualism claim in province's Alberta Next survey
The union representing RCMP officers is disputing that its members do not have the opportunity to advance to senior roles unless they speak French, as claimed in the preamble to a new Alberta government survey. On Wednesday, Premier Danielle Smith launched the province's 15-member Alberta Next panel along with corresponding online engagement questionnaires. The panel is seeking feedback on measures Alberta could pursue to further assert itself against the federal government, with an initial focus on an Alberta pension plan, tax collection, immigration, constitutional changes, federal transfers including equalization, and a provincial police force. The panel's website has individual polls for each of those issues that can only be taken following a short animated video. 'Because of French-language requirements, English-speaking Alberta officers do not qualify for senior RCMP positions,' states the narration for the video prior to the survey on a provincial police force. The survey doesn't define what constitutes a senior position. In a statement to Postmedia, the National Police Federation (NPF) president and CEO Brian Sauvé challenged the survey's claim. 'As we've seen previously, the government of Alberta continues to mislead Albertans about the benefits of the Alberta RCMP,' he said. 'In its campaign, the government falsely claims that English-only members are barred from advancing to any senior ranks tied to government requirements. Unfortunately, this is yet another instance of the province spreading misinformation.' The NPF is Canada's largest police union, representing 20,000 RCMP members, and has also been a longtime opponent of a potential provincial police force. The office of Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis responded to those remarks by saying the union was mistaken. 'The National Police Federation is wrong,' reads a statement from Ellis's office. 'The RCMP has previously confirmed that all deputy and assistant commissioner positions in Ottawa are designated bilingual, as are senior positions held by civilians within senior staff.' It goes on to note prior media reporting that the Mounties had to implement new measures to ensure that current and prospective senior managers were bilingual. The statement did not address questions about the future of French-language policing in Alberta. The RCMP told Postmedia that bilingualism requirements for certain roles are not so simple, and vary by region. 'Alberta is designated as a unilingual region for language-of-work purposes, and the vast majority of senior leadership positions in Alberta are identified as English-essential,' said RCMP in an email. The statement adds that of the 3,691 bilingual regular member job positions across Canada, 142 of those roles are located in Alberta, and that there are currently 321 bilingual regular members in Alberta-based K-Division in Edmonton. The Alberta government has worked to establish the groundwork for a province-wide police agency, most recently through changes to the Police Act, which states the new service would be a Crown corporation operating at arm's-length from the province. In 2022, Canada's languages commissioner wrote to Alberta Justice seeking assurances about the preservation of French-language policing in the province should it drop the RCMP, according to an internal briefing note which reads, 'if Alberta creates its own provincial police service, the RCMP would be replaced by a police force that will no longer have the obligation to offer services in French.' According to the 2021 federal census, 261,435 Albertans were able to conduct a conversation in French with just over 88,000 Alberta residents identifying French as their mother tongue. mblack@ Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Provincial funding will allow northern universities to train more teachers
The Ontario government is spending $55.8 million to train up to 2,600 new teachers by 2027, both English and French-language educators.
CTV News
05-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Quebec says it will drop permanent immigration targets to as low as 25,000 per year
Jean-François Roberge, Quebec's Minister responsible for Democratic Institutions, in the Quebec National Assembly on Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press) Quebec's immigration minister says the government will drop its permanent immigration targets to as low as 25,000 people per year. Jean-François Roberge says the government will study three scenarios of 25,000, 35,000 and 45,000 immigrants per year. Currently, Quebec is projected to accept about 64,000 permanent immigrants in 2025. But Roberge says that needs to go down due to rising unemployment, increasing strain on housing and the challenges of protecting the French language. Roberge says Quebec also wants Ottawa to reduce the number of temporary immigrants in the province under federally managed programs to 200,000 from more than 400,000. The minister said the government will hold consultations on the changes before announcing its final 2026 to 2029 targets. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2026.
Globe and Mail
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Quebec will drop permanent immigration targets to as low as 25,000 people per year
Quebec's immigration minister says the government will drop its permanent immigration targets to as low as 25,000 people per year. Jean-François Roberge says the government will study three scenarios of 25,000, 35,000 and 45,000 immigrants per year. Currently, Quebec is projected to accept about 64,000 permanent immigrants in 2025. But Roberge says that needs to go down due to rising unemployment, increasing strain on housing and the challenges of protecting the French language. Roberge says Quebec also wants Ottawa to reduce the number of temporary immigrants in the province under federally managed programs to 200,000 from more than 400,000. The minister said the government will hold consultations on the changes before announcing its final 2026 to 2029 targets.
CBC
01-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
From signs to packaging, new language rules come into effect in Quebec
Social Sharing New rules took effect in Quebec on Sunday requiring French to be the dominant language on store signs and imposing stricter guidelines for product packaging. The changes are part of Quebec's 2022 overhaul of its French-language law, known as Bill 96, which the government said was essential to protect French in the province. The new rules came into force on June 1 despite a request from business groups to extend the deadline for companies to comply. They say businesses haven't been given enough time to make changes that can be onerous and costly. Here are five things to know about the latest language regulations. French must be "markedly predominant" on store signs Under the new rules, French must take up twice as much space as other languages on store signs and commercial advertising. That means stores with English names, like Canadian Tire, Best Buy and Second Cup will have to include generic terms or descriptions in French on their storefronts that take up two thirds of the space devoted to text. Michel Rochette, Quebec president of the Retail Council of Canada, said businesses must ensure they're complying with municipal bylaws and landlords' requirements when changing their storefronts, which can be time-consuming. "They want to comply with the rules. It's not a question of willingness," he said. "It's a question of capacity and authorization." WATCH | What store signs might look like under new Quebec language rules: See how supersized some store signs could get under new Quebec rules 1 year ago Duration 5:17 We dig into the bold draft regulations the government announced in early 2024 as a part of its updated language laws, the costs and signage involved, and the many questions that remain unanswered. But last week, French-language Minister Jean-François Roberge said many companies have already updated their signs, and pointed specifically to food retailer Bulk Barn as being largely in compliance. "It's possible to do it," he said. Product packaging rules have been tightened Labels on product packaging must already be translated into French. But there's an exception for trademarks in other languages, which don't have to be translated. The latest regulations take aim at generic terms sometimes included in trademarks, like "lavender and shea butter" hand soap, for example. Those descriptive terms will now have to be translated as well. This particular rule caused the U.S. government to list Bill 96 as a trade irritant earlier this year. Rochette said if global suppliers choose not to modify their labelling to comply with the rule, Quebec businesses won't be able to stock those products and could lose customers to online retailers. "So this is really frustrating for many of them," he said. Smaller businesses must register with language watchdog Quebec already requires businesses with 50 or more employees to undergo a "francization" process to ensure French is the dominant language in the workplace. That requirement is now being extended to companies with 25 to 49 employees. The businesses must register with Quebec's language watchdog, the Office québecois de la langue française. François Vincent, Quebec vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said the majority of small businesses in the province already operate in French. "We're going to ask small entrepreneurs ... to fill out paperwork, only to be told that everything is fine," he said. Fines can reach $30,000 a day Businesses in violation of the new rules can be fined $3,000 to $30,000 per day for a first infraction, and up to $90,000 per day for a third offence. "This can lead to huge fines," Vincent said. However, Roberge has said the language office won't be looking to slap immediate fines on non-compliant businesses, as long as they're taking steps to fix the problem. Business groups asked for more time Rochette and Vincent issued an open letter last week asking for an extension from the Quebec government. They say the province had promised companies would have three years to adapt to the new rules. Bill 96 became law in 2022, but the final version of these regulations was only published in June 2024. The government confirmed Friday that the regulations would take effect on June 1, as planned. "In one year, there's time to do a lot of things," Roberge said earlier in the week. "We are disappointed because we thought it was important to give more time for business owners to comply," said Vincent. "These are complex rules that will create more red tape and more costs for small businesses." Jean-Philippe Mikus, an intellectual property lawyer, said there will likely be legal challenges around the interpretation of the new rules.
