Law 14 Update

As the implementation of Law 14 (previously Bill 96) progresses, we wanted to provide an update on the negotiations with the government regarding the implications for our working conditions.

Implementation of Law 14 at Dawson

As a brief reminder, there are several aspects of Law 14 that have implications for Dawson and the courses we offer. The first phase of implementation requires that all non-certificate holders take the French Exit Exam prior to graduation. To prepare the students, starting in Fall 2023 the French department has been offering new courses with competencies designed to prepare students for the Exit Exam. This required modifications to the program grids that impacted on staffing for both complementary courses and some General Education courses.

The second phase of implementation requires that colleges prioritize admissions for certificate holders. Dawson has developed an admissions policy to reflect this which was officially in effect as of Winter 2024; since we do not admit many students in the Winter semester, the main impact of this will be seen with the admissions for Fall 2024.

Finally, the next phase is to implement the requirement that all students have 5 courses “of or in” French – whether the courses are French language courses or other courses taught in French depends on whether the students are certificate holders and their level of French. As a result of this, courses will begin to be offered in French in other disciplines. Programs have identified which courses will be offered in French, which in many cases will be a Humanities course. Although this phase is officially to be implemented starting in Fall 2024, the courses selected occur in the third semester, or later, of the program, so the impact will only be felt as of Fall 2025.

Survey on French Ability
Given that many departments will need to start offering courses in French, the College has decided to survey faculty on their French ability as a preliminary step to determine staffing needs. The DTU are co-sponsoring the survey and have been actively involved in its design; the College has also committed to sharing the results with the DTU.

The survey will be available on Omnivox soon and it will be mandatory. It is important that faculty participate so that, whenever possible, courses can be assigned to those who are both proficient and willing to teach in French.

Union Negotiations on Protections for Law 14

Separately from the Collective Agreement negotiations, the FNEEQ is negotiating with the government to develop a “lettre d’entente” addressing the changes to the working conditions of teachers in anglophone cegeps as a result of Law 14. The FNEEQ negotiating team includes two FNEEQ representatives as well as a teacher representative from an anglophone cegep; the teacher representative is DTU Executive member Émilie Richer. There are also discussions happening with the administration of the anglophone cegeps to develop a unified approach to increase the likelihood of the government agreeing. 

There are many possible elements being discussed at the moment, but the FNEEQ is hoping to get an agreement that includes:

• a 5-year transition phase during which teachers who are unable to teach a course in French would be able to turn down the course without losing seniority and priority

• access to a leave for professional development training for teachers whose French ability is not sufficient to teach courses in French in their discipline

• recognition that the same course in a different language counts as a distinct preparation for CI calculation

The DTU will be holding a Law 14 drop-in session from 1-3pm on Thursday, February 15th in the Boardroom (5B.13). Members of the DTU Executive will be available to answer questions.