Quebec Announces New Immigration Rules

[messenger]

Just got this! http://www.canadavisa.com/news/entry/quebec-announces-new-immigration-rules-09072013.html

 

[MaxLet]

Interesting but it doesnt touch the family category...
Quebec is just trying to defend their language, i wouldnt be surprise if they apply this tests to sponsorship category soon, they're honestly a lot immigrants who doesnt speak french at all. I'm fluent in both english and french, but french took me a while cuz it is so different from france (interntional)-french, not easy! And there are a lot of quebequers that will not serve you in english (out of montreal most of all) it happened to me when i went to my hubby's town for the first time...

 

[frege]

Interesting but it doesnt touch the family category...
Quebec is just trying to defend their language, i wouldnt be surprise if they apply this tests to sponsorship category soon, they're honestly a lot immigrants who doesnt speak french at all. I'm fluent in both english and french, but french took me a while cuz it is so different from france (interntional)-french, not easy!

It's true that Canadian French is moderately different from European French, but this isn't taken into account when they measure your French proficiency for immigration. If you speak European French well, that's considered as being the same level as if you speak Canadian French well.

When you get to Quebec, it's important not to exhibit an attitude that European French is better, or people will dislike you. You can speak your own kind of French as long as you're not critical of others, and you'll be fine in most cases.

And there are a lot of quebequers that will not serve you in english (out of montreal most of all) it happened to me when i went to my hubby's town for the first time...

Do you really believe most Ontarians will gladly serve you in French?

 

[MaxLet]

Hahaha no, i know they will not, i went to ontario with my hubby, but i manage english so i didnt care.
Anyway, my point was that is easy to understand that quebequers want to protect french as is the only province that speaks it officially. anyway they are not asking to master the anguage but to be able to use it, anyway thats easy to test with an exam or interview.
For french european-french quebecois, i just wanna add that is not about prefering one or another, is just is a big change, new words (bas-chaussette, souliers-chaussure, etc) it takes a while to adjust.
good luck, God bless

 

[frege]

Hahaha no, i know they will not, i went to ontario with my hubby, but i manage english so i didnt care.
Anyway, my point was that is easy to understand that quebequers want to protect french as is the only province that speaks it officially. anyway they are not asking to master the anguage but to be able to use it, anyway thats easy to test with an exam or interview.
For french european-french quebecois, i just wanna add that is not about prefering one or another, is just is a big change, new words (bas-chaussette, souliers-chaussure, etc) it takes a while to adjust.
good luck, God bless

Yes, for most people, it's not about preferring one or the other. You obviously have a very reasonable view of things. However, it's not unheard of for some people to take a view critical of Canadian French, and this can create problems.

 

[QuebecOkie]

I arrived about a year ago with pretty much zero French. I could say, "Je ne comprends pas." That's about it. I've been learning since I arrived, but my French is still pretty broken. However, even though I live in what my brother-in-law once referred to as the "heart of separatist Québec," (Saguenay/Lac St. Jean), the people here are generally very nice. I do try in French, but I have a very limited vocabulary and still struggle to form sentences well. I apologize for my bad French and then try to ask for what I need, and most people are smiling, patient, and kind. Heck, many of them compliment my French, haha! (Which I know they're just doing to be nice.)

I say all of that to say, yes, Québec does take steps to protect its language, and at times, the politics are not friendly to those who don't speak French. BUT, if you head out with a good attitude, a smile for the people who help you, and a genuine effort to learn at least the basics in French, the people tend to be friendly and helpful. In my experience, at least.