Can I get an English proficiency certificate? It is difficult

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New Quebec government directives that suggest “historical anglophones” will need their English language proficiency certificates to communicate in English only on the province’s health care network raised concerns and increased interest in obtaining those qualifications.

As reported in The Gazette on Wednesday, under the heading “oral and written communication,” the Ministry of Health defines the conditions for the special use of English in the health sector included in the new instructions issued on 18 July.

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“The facility (an entity within the health network) can communicate only in English with a person” as long as it meets two conditions:

• They have been “issued a Declaration of Eligibility to receive English education from the Quebec Department of Education,” known as a certificate of English language proficiency.
• They must also “expressly request” services in English.

Until the order was issued by the Ministry of Health, it was not required that a non-francophone Quebecer present a certificate of eligibility to seek and receive medical services in English.

French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge responded to a series of articles by The Gazette about X, formerly known as Twitter, saying the order allows anyone who wishes to access health services in a language other than French to do so.

But the deputy chief of staff told The Gazette that the government has no intention of abandoning the new requirement for “historical anglophones” in the province to present a certificate of eligibility from the Ministry of Education to be allowed to speak about English only in the field of health.

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Roberge also said that in X “except for members of the old English-speaking community, the command provides administrative or non-life-threatening communications to the user must be in French.”

Which confused matters even more, and convinced many that they got their degree right. Roberge promised to speak to English community leaders to listen to their concerns and clarify issues. On Thursday, the Quebec Community Groups Network said Roberge had not yet responded to their requests for clarification.

So how do you get a degree?

Under the Convention on the French Language, a child living in Quebec has the right to attend an English-language primary or secondary school if they, one of their siblings or one of their parents made the majority of their English primary school in Canada. A certificate of eligibility must be obtained from the Quebec Department of Education to enroll in an English primary or secondary school.

However, to receive the certificate, the child must be in primary or high school, a representative of the Ministry of Education told The Gazette.

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“It is not possible to get a certificate once primary and high school studies have been completed,” said a representative of the department that oversees the eligibility of the English language certificate.

What if you went to school in Quebec in English, but you’re not sure if you have a certificate, or you’ve lost track of it?

If you attended elementary or high school in Quebec in English, you may have already been awarded a certificate. You can check by calling the Ministry of Education at 514-873-3399, extension 5300, or email them at AEA-Mtl@education.gouv.qc.ca.

If you have one, the service can send you a copy if you send them a copy of your birth certificate. You can also find it by visiting the school board that was responsible for your school.

However, school board officials say they are getting more calls about the certificates because more people need them for CEGEP applications due to the new directives on French studies, but it is not clear if they who have left high school will be allowed to receive them. A voice message from the Ministry of Education warns applicants to expect delays in receiving the certificate because they are processing many applications.

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If you didn’t go to school in English in Quebec, and you’ve never applied for a certificate, you probably don’t have one.

What if you didn’t attend an English school in Quebec, even if you were eligible, and you don’t have a degree?

Reader Derek Heatherington told The Gazette he looked into getting his certificate this week after reading about the new directives, and was told he had a certificate because he was doing school in English, and could be sent copy. (Although he was initially told that he could not have a copy because he was an adult.)

But his wife, who would qualify for an English degree because her father and grandfather went to school in English, never applied for a language certificate. French.

Now that he would like to get it in order to ensure that he receives information in English for health services, he has been told that he cannot, because he is not an adult who has just graduated from high, he can no longer apply.

The Heatherington woman is not alone.

According to the 2021 census, there were 304,000 children aged five to 17 in Quebec who were eligible to be taught English. Almost a quarter of those – 23.8 percent, or more than 72,000 – had never attended an English school. The census did not ask how many of those students had obtained a qualification in English.

Meanwhile, Heatherington is still in the process of getting a copy of her certificate, but she says while she waits, “I have to worry that if I have a heart attack and I’m in the hospital, when I can be treated in English because I don’t have my English qualification with me.”

Does this mean that thousands of Quebecers who would like to have their health information transmitted in English will not be allowed to because they cannot obtain their certificates of eligibility, even if they are legally allowed to do they have them?

It is not clear. The Gazette sent an inquiry to Robge’s office on Friday. His press secretary sent an email saying he was on vacation and advised reporters to contact another press secretary. That press aide also responded with an automated response, advising reporters to contact the first press aide contacted by The Gazette.

rbruemmer@postmedia.com

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