QUEBEC CITY - Quebec's medicare agency is taking steps to reduce the dependence of immigrants on the English language, according to The Canadian Press.

Starting January 30, 2012, the Regie de l'assurance maladie du Quebec (RAMQ) will impose a one-year limit on communicating in English with immigrants, even if their knowledge of the French language is weak.

The change is significant. Currently immigrants who address RAMQ bureaucrats in English have their files automatically marked with a 'language code' stipulating that all future communication will be in English.

According to information provided by the Ministry of the French Language, nearly one third -- 31.46 percent -- of allophones who settle in Montreal demand and are served in English by RAMQ for their lifetime.

Once the new policy is in place, RAMQ will cease to automatically offer services in English to immigrants one year to the day after their initial contact with the agency, unless explicitly requested by clients.

Lengthy discussions between upper management of the RAMQ, a sub-minister of the Secretariat, and the Office Quebecois de la langue francaise were needed to reach this agreement.

"To have English-language services provided to immigrants for the rest of their lives was unacceptable," said Christine St-Pierre, the minister for the Charter of the French language in an interview earlier this week.

"It was enough to check 'English' on a box when arriving and that remained for life. At the same time, we have to obey health laws which protect the rights of anglophones," she added.

St-Pierre has been pushing the RAMQ for this change since 2010.

"After one year, the language of communication will automatically switch to French unless a request is made, but immigrants will have to ask. We want to avoid having information transmitted to immigrants in English ad vitam aeternam. We want to see a movement toward French," she said.

St-Pierre believe believes only a minority of new arrivals will insist upon their guaranteed right to be served in English, and thinks most will switch to French after a year.

"It's not a magic wand, but it's a message that the official language of Quebec is French. We are giving them one year to start the francization process," she said.

Despite the perception that anglophones are taking over the Caisse de Depot, the National Bank, Bombardier and the Montreal Canadiens, it's not all bad news on the linguistic front said the Minister.

"65 percent of immigrants know French before they come to Quebec, when 15 years ago it was only 38 percent. We're making progress," St-Pierre said.

The 'language code' is not unique to the RAMQ. The automobile insurance board (SAAQ) uses a similar mechanism, and St-Pierre hopes the RAMQ move will be a training measure for other government agencies.