QUEBEC CITY – Two Quebec ministers greeted refugees eager to learn French and begin working in the province.
To ease the challenge of integrating into a new culture and learning a new language at the same time, the government has promised to offer French second language courses to adults and children, free of charge.
Immigration minister Kathleen Weil welcomed refugees at the airport, but now she wants to make sure they are settling in.
“What are the next steps? And how do people integrate?” she asked.
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“The very first thing is that they find housing, that the kids are registered at school and that the adults are registered in a French language class.”
The government made no announcements Tuesday. Instead, media accompanied them on an informal tour of Cegep de Sainte-Foy to meet with refugees and community partners helping them get established in their new home.
“The possibility to find employment here – there’s a lot of possibilities in Quebec City to find a job,” said education minister Francois Blais.
But first, they’ll have to learn French. It’s a challenge one Syrian mother embraces.
“It’s ok, I’m ready,” said Joumana Algawud through a translator.
She and her family spent the last four years in Beirut where they had few friends, she couldn’t work, and housing and food were not affordable.
In Arabic, she admitted she knows little about Quebec, but has heard a lot about the value Canada puts on equality.
That’s encouraging for her – and her son Mostafa, who has dreams to study education or medicine in Canada.
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