Latest news with #LaSalleCollege
Montreal Gazette
4 days ago
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
Libman: No vacation from language law excesses in Quebec
Even during the political dog days of summer, we can't seem to escape the absurdity and frustration caused by Quebec language law excesses. Every few weeks something else provokes a head slap. This week we learned about a barbershop owner in St-Léonard who — six months after opening his local business — started being hounded by Quebec's French-language watchdog (OQLF) regarding everything from his store signage to his online presence — informed, as the owner put it, that he was being 'too loud on Instagram with my English.' Earlier this month, we discovered that LaSalle College, a bilingual institution, is being fined $30 million by the CAQ government for enrolling too many students in its English-language programs, exceeding a cap established by Bill 96 aimed at public CEGEPs and subsidized private colleges like LaSalle. The school says international students, who make up about 70 per cent of those enrolled in English-language Attestation of College Studies, where the government claims it exceeded its cap, are entirely self-funded through tuition fees, with no subsidies from the government. This excessive aspect of Bill 96 is another counterproductive and short-sighted example of Quebec shooting itself in the foot. LaSalle College offers pre-university and technical programs, teaching various trades, skills and vocational training — essentially feeding our labour force, which is in desperate need of nourishment. Last month, the onerous new rules and regulations in Bill 96 regarding signage and packaging came into effect. The bill, adopted in 2022, allowed a three-year implementation window — but the regulations were published only last summer — forcing merchants to wait, then scramble to comply. Stores with trademark names, such as Canadian Tire, Footlocker and Best Buy, or any business with another language in its name, must change their signage to include a translation or a generic description in French on storefronts, occupying at least two-thirds of the area devoted to text. Municipalities have provisions in their zoning bylaws that often limit the size and scope of signage. The costs and inconveniences caused by these overzealous rules represent an infuriating impediment, among others, for many businesses. These new signage regulations also conjure up satirical images of language inspectors in trench coats showing up with tape measures, analyzing proportions and dimensions of a sign. With Bill 96, it takes only one complaint, even anonymous, to launch an investigation that could lead to hefty fines. The new rules on packaging could severely impact trademarked collectibles or specialty items made only in other countries, such as guitar strings or other music supplies, that can no longer be sold here if not labelled in French. Merchants will either go through hoops to do their own labelling — likely passing the price on to consumers — or be unable to provide certain items and take a hit, as customers turn to Amazon. We can expect the OQLF will send out secret shoppers to sniff out scofflaws. In France, the 1994 Toubon Law made French the official language, imposing its use in various contexts, including official communications, commercial contracts and advertising. However, that law is more accommodating, with exceptions for trademarks and in recognizing the importance of regional languages and linguistic diversity. Quebec's excesses make for embarrassing headlines abroad as with Pastagate, Bonjour-Hi and the Go Habs Go fiasco. There was a 60 Minutes report in 1998 that sardonically followed a language inspector on the job. Incidents that shine light on Quebec as an object of ridicule are inevitable when laws contain elements of intolerance, with regulations that go too far. They not only harm our province's image, economy and attractiveness, but they also caricature — and thereby undermine — the importance of protecting French itself. It's time to rethink language excesses, including the OQLF itself, unless we want one notable trademark sign to exemplify our province — Banana Republic.
Montreal Gazette
4 days ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Letters: Hockey trial verdict sad day for Canada
After a mistrial, two dismissed juries and an eventual trial by judge, I was not surprised by the ruling that found all five hockey players not guilty of sexual assault. In what world is it normal for five young men to think it is OK to have sex in a hotel room with a young woman who has consumed copious amounts of alcohol? The issue in my view is one of moral decency, the ability to give consent, and again, a victim being re-victimized. Sad day in this country. Victoria Jonas, Beaconsfield CAQ out of touch with today's reality I am deeply dismayed by the Legault government's ongoing assault on English-language institutions in Montreal. The most recent example — the $30-million fine levied against LaSalle College for alleged violations of Quebec's increasingly draconian language laws — is both troubling and short-sighted. LaSalle College, which is in fact bilingual and widely recognized as one of the finest institutions of its kind in Canada, now faces an existential threat — not because of any failure to serve its students, but because it does not conform to a narrow and insular vision of Quebec's identity. It is time for the government to acknowledge that today's generation of Quebecers — francophone, anglophone and allophone alike — is bilingual, globally minded and eager to engage with the wider world. Ironically, I believe the group most harmed by these restrictive policies are francophone Quebecers themselves, who are being held back by an imposed cultural isolation that no longer reflects the reality or aspirations of modern Quebec society. Robert Sugar, Westmount Put the screws on speed demons I was gobsmacked reading about the motorist who was ticketed by Montreal police over a missing licence plate screw. Far more serious infractions happen daily. I see drivers routinely ignoring stop signs, particularly at T-intersections, and 50 km/h seems to have become the new normal in 30 km/h school zones. The only upside? At least it appears there's a police presence in some parts of Montreal. In D.D.O.'s West Park area, enforcement seems nonexistent. M. Evelyn Watson, Dollard-des-Ormeaux Picture is bleak for art heritage Re: 'Pointe-Claire seniors rally to save beloved murals' (The Gazette, July 23) Tex Dawson's 'windows' into Montreal's architectural heritage enlighten both the residents of Le Wellesley and the pluralist cultural life of this city. How much of our pictorial heritage will be lost due to the insensitive interests of mediocre 'modernization'? Je me souviens Corridart and the Van Horne mansion destruction decades ago. John A. Schweitzer, Montreal Submitting a letter to the editor Letters should be sent by email to letters@ We prioritize letters that respond to, or are inspired by, articles published by The Gazette. If you are responding to a specific article, let us know which one. Letters should be sent uniquely to us. The shorter they are — ideally, fewer than 200 words — the greater the chance of publication. Timing, clarity, factual accuracy and tone are all important, as is whether the writer has something new to add to the conversation. We reserve the right to edit and condense all letters. Care is taken to preserve the core of the writer's argument. Our policy is not to publish anonymous letters, those with pseudonyms or 'open letters' addressed to third parties. Letters are published with the author's full name and city or neighbourhood/borough of residence. Include a phone number and address to help verify identity; these will not be published. We will not indicate to you whether your letter will be published. If it has not been published within 10 days or so, it is not likely to be.
Montreal Gazette
5 days ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Drimonis: CAQ's zero-sum politics add up to a loss for Quebec
Quebec Politics This week's news that McGill University is eyeing a 'rebrand' — which followed recent headlines about the Legault government's $30-million fine against LaSalle College for exceeding quotas on English-language students — left me feeling exhausted. Over the last few years, I've grown increasingly tired of watching Quebec's English-language institutions spend so much energy, time and money fending off attacks by the Coalition Avenir Québec instead of focusing on what they do best: educating students. Why would a nationally and internationally renowned university like McGill feel the need to rebrand if not for a government seemingly determined to undermine it by imposing measures that create chaos, confusion and financial uncertainty? And why is LaSalle College — a successful bilingual school (founded by a francophone) — now having to fight for its survival over student quotas supposedly aimed at strengthening the French language, but for which no evidence exists that they achieve any such thing? It's been demoralizing to watch English-language institutions that have benefited, shaped and promoted Montreal and Quebec around the world be treated in a consistently aggressive and underhanded way by this government. And for what? Political points? Time and again, the CAQ has chosen division over real investments in the French language, perhaps hoping to distract from its own disastrous record. In attacking these vital establishments the government seems to be trying to convince Quebecers that any loss for English-language institutions is a gain for French. Does anyone actually believe that? When I hear the antiquated rhetoric of those who refer to McGill as a bastion of anglo supremacy, disconnected from Quebec's francophone majority, I can't help but think these critics are the ones disconnected from today's Quebec. Are they aware of the number of francophones who are employed by, teach or study at English-language institutions? Or the extent to which these institutions help fill labour shortages elsewhere in the workforce? It's absurd to treat them as something separate and apart from the rest of Quebec. They are Quebec. Post-Bill-101 Quebec is no longer a place where francophones, anglophones and allophones walk separately. Most of us want to move forward, side by side, speaking each others' languages. Quebec society benefits daily from the skills, research and innovations of its institutions of higher learning — English and French — from artificial intelligence to public health and beyond. It's tiring to see this government repeatedly use language as a weapon and treat politics as a zero-sum game between two opponents. Are we not all on the same team? It's been said before: a Quebec institution is a Quebec institution. Their success is the bedrock of our collective success. We all lose when one of us takes a hit. English-language institutions are assets that contribute to Quebec's educated workforce and economic development. They deserve as much respect and protection as their French-language counterparts. We shouldn't have to argue this. Yet this government would have us believe that when one of us is cut down, the other becomes taller. In truth, zero-sum politics are increasingly being recognized as outdated and harmful, hindering co-operation, stifling economic growth and innovation, and contributing to political divides. Positive-sum policies, on the other hand, create better outcomes for everyone. That's what we need — governments that amplify our strengths, not chip away at them. In a place that understandably will always worry about the protection of what makes it unique and different, it's lazy and cynical to use language as a political weapon — especially when English-speakers who are bilingual or multilingual are a fundamental part of Quebec's success, too. The Legault government seems stubbornly stuck in the Quebec of yesteryear, fighting enemies that no longer exist. Language is a tool for communication and success, not for exclusion and suppression. We either succeed together, or we fail while pointing fingers at one another. I know which I prefer.
Montreal Gazette
23-07-2025
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
LaSalle College says it helps French thrive, so why is Quebec cracking down on it?
By The bookstore at LaSalle College looks a lot like a bookstore at any other college or university, apart from a large section offering fabric by the yard, coloured threads on bobbins, buttons, zippers and other notions, alongside textbooks with titles like 'Fashion: The Whole Story' and 'Tout sur la mode.' It's all evidence of the school's long reputation as Quebec's foremost school for fashion design. But recently, this private, subsidized bilingual college at the corner of Ste-Catherine and Fort Sts. in downtown Montreal has been getting attention for something less glamorous than its flair for fashion. The Quebec government has served the school with fines totalling almost $30 million for violating the province's language law by admitting too many students to its English-taught continuing-education programs over the last two years. Education Minister Pascale Déry says it's a simple case of the college refusing to follow the rules. But many see it as another example of perverse effects caused by the CAQ government's single-minded zeal to show just how serious it is about protecting the French language. According to the college's president and CEO, Claude Marchand, the draconian one-size-fits-all fines risk killing an institution that actually promotes French here and abroad, contributes far more to government coffers than it takes in subsidies and improves Quebec's image around the world. On top of all that, Marchand argues, the main reason LaSalle College is in conflict with the language law is that it has been trying to help Premier François Legault's government meet another important objective: to fill a 170,000-person labour market shortage in the public service and other strategic economic sectors. The college is fighting the fines in Quebec Superior Court but is hoping the government will relent and come to some reasonable agreement. In the meantime, staff members told a Gazette reporter last week they are telling nervous students that it's 'business as usual'… for now. But what exactly is LaSalle College and why should the government reconsider these fines that threaten to put a 66-year-old institution out of business? LaSalle College was founded in 1959 by east-end Montreal entrepreneur Jean-Paul Morin. The original campus was in the Montreal borough of LaSalle. When it opened its doors it was essentially a secretarial school. In its first year, a dozen young women signed up to take courses in shorthand, touch typing, filing and record keeping, along with a course called 'Charm and Finishing.' The college grew, and in 1962 Morin moved his school downtown to be closer to the office jobs the school was filling. But Morin had a passion for fashion, having worked at the iconic Ogilvy clothing store and several clothing design firms during and after obtaining a business degree at Sir George Williams University. In 1973, Morin hired local fashion maven Michèle Boulanger-Bussière — best known as the longtime fashion editor at La Presse — to design and head up a new fashion faculty at the school. In 1989, LaSalle College embarked on a project to 'internationalize' by establishing the first LaSalle College International (LCI) campus in Casablanca, Morocco. The LCI network now includes 23 campuses in nine countries, including Canada (Montreal, Laval, Vancouver), Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Morocco, Spain, Turkey and Australia. These institutes are all independent, but LaSalle College students have the option of taking a few courses or even a full degree at these institutes. By the early 1990s, the college had more than 1,000 students. The school established a charitable foundation called the Montreal Fashion Foundation, which supported education and research in the field, organized fashion galas and awarded scholarships to young designers to continue their studies in Canada and abroad. Today, LaSalle College has about 4,500 students enrolled in seven faculties, including Information Technology and Engineering; Gaming, Animation and VFX; Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary; Business Management; Education and Social Sciences; and Arts, Design and Communication. Students can take courses in 65 programs, all offered in English or French. Students can do a three-year Diploma of Collegial Studies (DCS or, in French, DEC), which prepares them for the job market or to continue their education at university. The school also offers continuing education for those in the workforce but looking for a change of career. These courses lead to an Attestation of Collegial Studies (ACS, or AEC in French) and generally require less time to complete. 'What makes LaSalle really unique is that all of our programs are available in French and in English. So that means our students can pick what is best for them,' Marchand said. 'At LaSalle, half the students are enrolled in our French-taught programs and half are enrolled in our English-taught programs.' The other element that makes the school unique is the high proportion of international students who enrol here. In any given year, from 30 to 40 per cent of the student body of about 4,500 students hail from countries other than Canada. 'No other college-level institution, whether in the public or private sector, welcomes as many international students,' Marchand said. And since LaSalle is categorized as a francophone institution, all of its students must pass the French exit exam to receive their degrees. 'It's amazing for the French language because every student studying in our English-taught programs must follow courses of French, courses in French and must successfully pass the (French exit) exam at the end of their studies to show they are proficient in French. Our belief is that is easier to (learn French) at LaSalle because at the cafeteria, or when we organize activities ... half of the students are already living in French. I don't want to be stereotypical, but, yes, there are couples being formed between kids in the French-taught programs and in the English-taught programs, and … they need to make it work.' The high quotient of international students is one reason LaSalle ended up over-enrolling in its English-taught programs. Law 14, formerly Bill 96, amended Quebec's language law to limit the number of students studying in English at public CEGEPs and at private, subsidized colleges like LaSalle. The law was passed in May 2022, but each institution's enrolment quotas and the fines that would be levied if those were surpassed were only made public at the end of February 2023. By that point, Marchand says, enrolment for the 2023-2024 academic year was already mostly complete, and many international students were already enrolled for the 2024-2025 year because they need to secure acceptance well in advance to obtain visas. Another complicating factor for LaSalle College was that it was participating heavily in a Quebec government program to address labour shortages. In 2021, Labour Minister Jean Boulet launched a program called 'Operation main-d'oeuvre' to fill critical gaps in the public service and certain economic sectors. Over five years, the government aimed to spend $3.9 billion to attract, train or retrain 170,000 workers, including 60,000 in essential public services such as health, social services and early childhood education, and 110,000 in information technologies, engineering and construction. 'So what the government did was encourage, post-COVID, workers to go back to school and re-qualify, and LaSalle played a key role in that program,' Marchand said. In fact, LaSalle reoriented its offerings to accept many more continuing-education students in programs like IT, early childhood education and special-care counselling so its graduates could meet needs in those sectors, including in daycare centres and long-term care facilities. The overall number of students studying in English at LaSalle has decreased since 2019, but more students are now taking continuing-education (ACS) courses in English, while fewer are taking pre-university (DCS) courses in English. The college receives government subsidies for all Quebec residents doing pre-university (DCS) degrees. In addition, the school gets a fixed sum per year regardless of how many students it accepts in ACS programs. For example, in 2023-2024, LaSalle was subsidized $9.3 million for its ACS programs. Marchand points to an economic impact study that shows the college generates $31.8 million in government revenues annually. 'We receive about $20 million of public subsidies, so we generate an excess in cash of about $10 million a year to the government,' he said. He is still hoping the government will relent and cancel the fines, noting the school will be meeting the Law 14 quotas for English-taught admissions in the 2025-2026 year. He said instead of punishing the school, the Quebec government should be using it as a model for francization and the principle of harmonious 'vivre ensemble' that politicians love talking about and for which Montreal is famous. 'We fulfil a very important public mission for Quebec society. We are not stealing from Quebec society. On the contrary, we are heavy contributors. We don't deserve any kind of fine. We deserve additional investments or recognition.'
Montreal Gazette
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Letters: Rich list, $10M handbag sad reminders of inequalities
The big headline on the front page of last Saturday's paper screamed: QUEBEC RICH LIST. Another article published that day was about an original Birkin handbag that sold for US$10 million at auction at Sotheby's in Paris. What happened to the adage 'sharing the wealth'? The other side of the story is homelessness and poverty. I feel sad about this imbalance. Eleanor Arless, Pointe-Claire Look beyond LaSalle College Whatever the details in the conflict between LaSalle College and the Quebec government, the main source of the issue must not be overlooked — Bill 96, which caps the number of students allowed to enrol in English programs in public and private colleges. Were it not for this law that targets English institutions of higher learning, this contentious situation involving a college founded in 1959 and a government bent on exacting severe punishment in the form of exorbitant fines that threatens the school's existence would not have occurred. LaSalle College thrives and survives with the presence of international students and provides jobs for hundreds of teachers. Not only is it lamentable that this battle must now be fought in court, but it is deplorable that the government will fight it on the basis of a law that, in my view, is morally offensive. How many English-speaking students are too many? What will it take to calm the anxieties of the CAQ government over 'too much English' being heard on downtown streets? The courts may sort out the details of this specific conflict, but it is Bill 96's discriminatory targeting of English-language institutions that needs amending. Goldie Olszynko, Mile End CAQ's attacks on education I'm appealing to the Quebec government to stop its unwelcome policies that serve to minimize the value of education in our province — from the $570 million in cuts to education announced last month to the $30 million penalty that LaSalle College now faces over English-language enrolment. As concerned citizens, we remind our government representatives that their duty is to foster all possible means to encourage our youth and help them prepare their future through education. Vivianne M. Silver, Côte-St-Luc A prescription for health care Re: ' What does excellence look like in health care? ' (Opinion, July 11) A thank you to Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg for explaining with great clarity what our health care system should strive for and what it must avoid. 'In health care,' he notes, 'excellence begins with putting the patient at the centre.' Are Health Minister Christian Dubé and his team listening and taking note? Ruth Khazzam, Westmount Submitting a letter to the editor Letters should be sent by email to letters@ We prioritize letters that respond to, or are inspired by, articles published by The Gazette. If you are responding to a specific article, let us know which one. Letters should be sent uniquely to us. The shorter they are — ideally, fewer than 200 words — the greater the chance of publication. Timing, clarity, factual accuracy and tone are all important, as is whether the writer has something new to add to the conversation. We reserve the right to edit and condense all letters. Care is taken to preserve the core of the writer's argument. Our policy is not to publish anonymous letters, those with pseudonyms or 'open letters' addressed to third parties. Letters are published with the author's full name and city or neighbourhood/borough of residence. Include a phone number and address to help verify identity; these will not be published. We will not indicate to you whether your letter will be published. If it has not been published within 10 days or so, it is not likely to be.
