Contributors

Executive Summary

Catherine-Laure Juste, Policy Researcher, Provincial Employment Roundtable

Morgan Gagnon, Policy Researcher, Provincial Employment Roundtable

Joshua Loo, Policy Research Intern, Provincial Employment Roundtable

However, French-language barriers can be a challenge for professionals who are English speakers and must practice their profession in accordance with French-language policies. Despite high levels of English-French bilingualism among Québec’s English speakers, French remains a challenge for some who require additional profession-specific French-language training. Not only is French-language proficiency a requirement for membership in Québec’s professional orders, but professionals who do not meet language criteria must also pass a French-language competency exam administered by the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF). Additionally, professional orders can mandate all their members to take French-language professional competency exams throughout their careers.

For professionals who face challenges meeting French-language requirements, language learning support can be essential to their ability to pass competency exams and practice their profession.

This report aims to examine the role of French language policies in professional orders and the language support measures available to prospective and current members of professional orders in Québec. Language learning support is a broad concept, but it generally refers to actions taken to support professionals who face French-language barriers, whether it is supporting their ability to take French-language competency exams, or improving their ability to use French in the practice of their profession. Support measures can include programs, institutional policies, initiatives and educational tools specifically designed to help French-language learners. The report also describes the current French-language policies in Québec’s professional orders system and identifies challenges for English speakers and other linguistic minorities who require French-language training.

Key Findings:

• French-language proficiency can pose a barrier to an individual’s ability to enter a professional order, even for individuals who have undergone the necessary professional training to practice a regulated profession in Québec.
• There is a lack of transitional programs that allow professionals to work in their profession while they simultaneously receive the French-language training necessary to pass the OQLF French-language exam.
• There are accessibility issues, such as financial constraints, for professionals looking to enter French-language training programs.
• There is a desire within professional orders for more organizational capacity and funding to improve their training programs and provide French-language support.
• Data on linguistic minorities in Québec’s professional orders is not widely available thus making it challenging to determine the extent of language support needed for French-language learners in Québec.