Bill 96 ignores students with 'invisible' disabilities trying to obtain higher education degrees

Bill 96 unfairly impedes students with disabilities Leigh Smit says Quebec's controversial language law could negatively impact students with disabilities who are pursuing higher education.

Students with disabilities say they're worried about how Quebec's controversial language law could negatively impact their ability to pursue higher education and thrive later in life.

"When we start making it, here's another barrier," Leigh Smit tells CTV News. "I'm quite discouraged by these laws; I understand how they will impact all kinds of students with disabilities, as well as other minority groups, and it's really detrimental for society."

The 32-year-old already has a CEGEP degree in modern languages but says it was challenging to find the help they needed.

They say Bill 96, which claims to strengthen the French language in Quebec, threatens to jeopardize any chances of academic or professional success for students with alternative needs.

"After struggling through school, I had a really hard time with life in general," Smit said, noting they live with ADHD, PTSD and is currently being evaluated for a potential physical disability. "I had a hard time supporting myself. I had a big problem with substance abuse and alcohol."

Now, they're giving themself a second chance at higher education, pursuing a career in social services at Dawson College -- but it seems the obstacles are never-ending.

"I could understand right away that this Bill [96] would cause a lot of suffering to a lot of people," Smit said. "I am a little horrified that we have politicians who are not only unwilling to listen to people about how this will affect us...but they're willing to push through with it anyway."

As someone who studied languages, Smit says they don't see how Bill 96 protects the French language at all.

"I think this will have people associate the French language with oppression," they point out. "This is a terrible way to get people to learn a language, and I think that any good teacher or language expert will tell you the same thing."

Smit insists the long-term losses for people with disabilities far outweigh the government's goal of protecting the French language.

"We've been struggling a lot already, and this bill will put us at increased risk of many different negative outcomes," they argue. "This will affect our health, our mental health, cause loss of autonomy, loss of self-determination; we'll have trouble getting good housing, loss of potential, we'll be at increased risk of victimization, substance abuse and reliance on government funding."

INVISIBLE DISABILITIES

The Quebec Association for Equity and Inclusion in Post-Secondary Education (AQEIPS), an organization created by and for students with disabilities, says it is deeply concerned about "the negative impact Bill 96 will have on students that live with language-based learning disabilities."

Under Bill 96, all CEGEP students at English schools must take three French-language courses to graduate.

However, AQEIPS points out that students with disabilities such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, or who are neurodiverse can have a hard enough time completing their degrees in their first language.

Shamron Spence, president of the board at AQEIPS, explains that language-based disabilities fall under the category known as "invisible disabilities."

"Let's say I struggle with language. So I might have spent elementary and high school just focusing on getting my English skills so I could go to CEGEP or university," she explains. "If you're struggling to learn a language, and your ability to succeed is to pass, say, five language courses, that could be a huge hurdle, and we don't even know if there's going to be the resources to support them."

LISTEN ON CJAD 800 RADIO: HOW IS BILL 96 GOING TO AFFECT SIGNS IN QUEBEC?

MASTERING THE FRENCH LANGUAGE

Bianca Lucin is currently completing her master's degree in education and society as a mature student at McGill University.

She notes her years of working as a daycare educator gravely damaged her back and ankles, leading to chronic illness.

"I live with constant pain, a lot of pain, and it's difficult to focus and concentrate, and reading is very difficult," she tells CTV News, adding she also has a visual impairment. "Accommodations are very difficult to obtain, especially if you have invisible disabilities."

Lucin says she fully understands the joys of speaking more than one language -- she is fluent in English, Croatian and German and can speak conversational French, Italian and Spanish.

Nevertheless, she acknowledges that the reality is it can be difficult for immigrants to learn a new language, especially on such a restrictive timeline.

Bill 96 offers new immigrants, including refugees, six months to master the French language before it is used for all official purposes, with some exemptions for health care and justice.

"I'm very passionate about languages, but Bill 96 should have been, in my opinion, looked into by the experts," Lucin says. "If I have to do a course in French, it will be very difficult. There is also a difference in the French spoken in the street and what we learn in school. As an immigrant, I notice a big gap."

AQEIPS also points out that people with disabilities can be less likely to find employment and are therefore more at risk of living in poverty -- especially with reduced access to post-secondary education.

"We don't think about it, but there are only two types of people in the world: those who don't have a disability now and those who will have a disability later," Spence said. "We all get old, and accommodation at any level is a step towards this idea of making an accessible society."

The association says it is now in the process of asking the Quebec government to give exemptions to students with disabilities from educational requirements in Bill 96.

According to Quebec's Ministry of Education, in conjunction with the Ministry of Higher Education, "French is the official language and common language of Quebec. Its knowledge is, therefore, an important requisite for success."

When asked if the government would be open to exempting students with disabilities from fulfilling requirements set out in Bill 96, the ministries noted, "The addition of French courses at the college level aims to improve knowledge and mastery of the official and common language. Note that the courses will offer adapted learning of the French language, and different forms of support will be offered to students in difficulty."

The ministries did not elaborate on what exactly this means other than to say students "can contact the appropriate service advisor at their institution."

Premier François Legault's office and Quebec's Minister of the French Language, Simon Jolin-Barrette, did not respond the CTV News' request for comment.