English Language Rights in Quebec Foster Care: What Bill 96 Actually Means for You

When Bill 96 passed in 2022, the headlines alarmed English-speaking Quebecers: government employees would now be required to communicate in French, and the right to be served in English was being curtailed. For someone considering foster care — already a process involving months of government evaluation — the question became immediate: will there be anyone at the DPJ who can work with me in English?

The answer is more reassuring than the headlines suggested. The designated institution system that protects English-language health and social services in Quebec was not dismantled by Bill 96. But understanding exactly where those protections apply, and where they do not, is genuinely important if you are an English speaker navigating the DPJ.

The Legal Basis for English Health and Social Services

The right to receive health and social services in English in Quebec is not a courtesy or an internal policy. It is grounded in the Act Respecting Health Services and Social Services (LSSSS), which predates Bill 96 and was not repealed by it. Section 15 of the LSSSS establishes that English-speaking persons have the right to receive adequate health and social services in the English language, to the extent provided by the institution's "program of access."

The practical mechanism for this right is the system of "designated institutions" — institutions that have an established English-language mandate and must provide full services in English to English-speaking persons. This is not voluntary. Designated institutions have a legal obligation.

What Are Designated Institutions?

Designated institutions are health and social services organizations that the Minister of Health has recognized as having an obligation to provide services in English. The list is reviewed and updated periodically.

For foster care purposes, the most important designated institution in Quebec is:

Batshaw Youth and Family Centres (CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal) — This is the primary English-language youth protection institution in the province. Batshaw's English-language mandate covers foster family recruitment, psychosocial evaluation, training, placement coordination, and ongoing case management. Its English services are not a supplementary option — they are the default for all English-speaking persons served by the institution.

Other designated institutions with meaningful English-language capacity include:

• CIUSSS du Centre-Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal — Serves parts of Montreal including Côte-des-Neiges and Côte-Saint-Luc, with a strong English and allophone mandate
• CIUSSS de l'Estrie-CHUS — The Eastern Townships has a historically significant English-speaking population, and this institution maintains English-language services
• CISSS de l'Outaouais — The Gatineau region, bordering Ottawa, maintains bilingual services through proximity to the federal capital

If you live in a region served by a designated institution, your right to English services throughout the foster care process — evaluation, training, PI reviews, placement discussions — is legally enforceable.

What Bill 96 Actually Changed

Bill 96 (An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec, also known as Law 96 or the amended Charter of the French Language) strengthened the general requirement for government communications to be conducted in French. It did not repeal the LSSSS designated institution provisions.

Several specific protections remain explicitly intact under Bill 96:

Health and public safety exceptions. Services can be provided in a language other than French when health or public safety requires it. Foster care — which involves child welfare, trauma-informed assessments, and decisions about a child's safety — falls squarely within the scope of services where language access is a matter of practical necessity, not mere preference.

Designated institution carve-out. Institutions designated under the LSSSS retain the right to provide services in English to their clientele. The designation framework survived Bill 96 intact. Batshaw can and must continue to provide its services in English.

Acquired English rights. Individuals who received primary or secondary school instruction in English in Canada (and their children) retain the right to be served in English by government bodies, consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

What This Means in Practice for Foster Parents

If you are applying to become a foster family through Batshaw or another designated institution, you can expect:

• Your information session and pre-selection interview will be conducted in English
• Your psychosocial evaluation visits will be conducted in English by an English-speaking social worker
• Your training (PFFA) will be available in English
• Your recognition contract and ongoing correspondence will be handled in English
• Your DPJ caseworker for placements will be able to communicate with you in English

If you are in a region without a designated institution and find that English services are unavailable or inconsistent, you have recourse. The Protecteur du citoyen (Quebec Ombudsman) handles complaints about service delivery by public institutions, including failures to provide services in English where legally required. The Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (CDPDJ) can also receive complaints regarding rights violations under youth protection legislation.

The Allophone Reality

A significant portion of the people who search in English for Quebec foster care information are not native English speakers. They are allophones — Quebecers whose first language is Tagalog, Arabic, Amharic, Hindi, or any of dozens of others — who use English as their preferred language for navigating complex government processes because their French proficiency is limited.

The designated institution system protects these individuals as well. The right to English services under the LSSSS applies to any person whose principal language of communication is English, not only those born into English-speaking families.

In practice, Batshaw works with a highly diverse community. The West Island and NDG neighbourhoods it serves are among the most linguistically varied in Quebec. Social workers at Batshaw are accustomed to working with families across this range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

If You Are Outside a Designated Region

English speakers in regions without a designated institution — rural Quebec, the North Shore, Abitibi-Témiscamingue — face a different reality. They may receive some English-language accommodation on request, but the consistency and scope of English services is not legally guaranteed in the same way as it is through designated institutions.

For these families, two strategies help: (1) Connect with the FFARIQ (1-866-529-5868), which provides French-English bilingual support to foster families across the province and can advise on regional resources. (2) Be explicit with your regional institution from your first contact that you require English services, and document that request.

For a complete guide to English-language navigation of the Quebec foster care system — including which institutions to contact by region, what to do if you encounter language barriers, and how to assert your rights through the correct channels — the Quebec Foster Care Guide covers the full landscape in plain English.

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