Canada to firmly re-assess its status as a British colony

[Razgovory]

Question:  Does the 7-Up need to be labeled in French as well?

[Berkut]

No, go back and read my post where I said resources should be spent where language of choice services is more critical.  Ordering a 7up in the language of your choice does not seem that critical. 

And thus, what constitutes "critical service", in your opinion? And why is it unreasonable to expect French service on a plane connecting Montreal and Ottawa? Would it be unreasonable to expect English service between Vancouver and Calgary.

I think it would be unreasonable for the state to legislate what languages people in industries speak when there is clearly no critical function that will impact on peple in a significant manner. I could maybe see the demand that an airline be able to communicate with customers well enough to allow them to make a reservation and take a fight. I guess. But the ability to order a soft drink?

Did the guy in question not speak English at all, so he just had to be thirsty?

It would be a foolish business choice to not have English speaking people on a flight between Vancouver and Calgary. Whether or not it is "reasonable" isn't really relevant, is it?

[Razgovory]

What is the French word for 7-up anyway?  I've been able to order things at a store where I didn't speak the language by just pointing and saying the English word.

[Oexmelin]

On the other hand, I don't know that said accommodation needs to extend to a guarantee of getting any particular service in your chosen language, much less a soft drink on an airline flight.

The difference here lies in the difference in Canadian and American histories, where guarantees over various matters (first religion, then laws, then language) became hot topics as soon as a sizeable "different" population needed to be governed within the British empire as early as 1760, and because the subsequent national narrative could not do away with the French - the way, for instance, early American narratives could not care less about the Spanish people on the borderlands, and did not need to secure the loyalty of the few Spanish-speakers inhabitants of California, New Mexico, Texas, etc.

Still, Raz's question is an interesting one: would you have the right to an English trial in Puerto Rico?

[Barrister]

Are there really that many people who ONLY speak French in Canada?

that's beside the point.
If I were to be judged for a crime I supposedly commited in Alberta, I would very much like a trial in French, and have a bilingual judge, just to make sure nothing is lost in translation.  Alas, it is not considered important for my English Canadian friends. But they have the right to an english trial anywhere in the country, though.

Hey Viper - Fuck You.

We spend a great deal of time and effort to ensure that everyone is entitled to a trial in either offcial language, anywhere in the country.  I have spent a great deal of time even recently researching and discussing this topic with colleagues.

And yes - I happen to know for a fact that we've run French language trials in Dawson City, Yukon.

[crazy canuck]

And why is it unreasonable to expect French service on a plane connecting Montreal and Ottawa? Would it be unreasonable to expect English service between Vancouver and Calgary?

It would not be unreasonable, since there is at least some chance someone on that flight might be a unilingual French speaker.  The chances are small but I grant you that there might be someone that goes without their 7up because they simply cannot communicate the fact they want one to the crew.

The chances of the occuring between Vancouver to Calgary is zero.

So I ask you again.  Do you really think it is reasonable to have someone employed in the Quesnel Post Office in the off chance one year someone might come in requesting services in French?

Where I think this policy has gone wrong is it is being misused by people for political purposes. Show me a case where someone could not recieve a service from a a Federal service provider because they were unable to commicate and you will get much more of a sympathetic ear from me.

[Oexmelin]

Question:  Does the 7-Up need to be labeled in French as well?

If it is sold in Quebec, yes.

Most American companies have complied without much fuss at all.

[Razgovory]

Question:  Does the 7-Up need to be labeled in French as well?

If it is sold in Quebec, yes.

Most American companies have complied without much fuss at all.

I know a lot of American companies don't do business in Quebec for that very reason.  To much of a hassle.  But,  I meant on the airplane.

[Barrister]

The problem I see with the Air Canada example is that the requirement to offer bilingual services exists only on Air Canada.  Because Air Canada was a Crown Corporation, when it was privatized special conditions were enshrined in the Air Canada Public Participation Act that require it to follow the Official Languages Act.  No other airline has those requirements put on it.

[crazy canuck]

Most American companies have complied without much fuss at all.

Because Canadian Border services requires such labelling before the product is allowed in the Country

[Malthus]

Did the guy in question not speak English at all, so he just had to be thirsty?

The guy in question speaks English and was not at all prevented from having a 7-up by language issues. His hobby, apparently, is making complaints of this sort, as a sort of self-chosen language inspector.

[Berkut]

Did the guy in question not speak English at all, so he just had to be thirsty?

The guy in question speaks English and was not at all prevented from having a 7-up by language issues. His hobby, apparently, is making complaints of this sort, as a sort of self-chosen language inspector.

I am having a lot of trouble resisting the "Damn, what a whiny bitch" response.

[Valmy]

Question:  Does the 7-Up need to be labeled in French as well?

If it is sold in Quebec, yes.

Most American companies have complied without much fuss at all.

I know a lot of American companies don't do business in Quebec for that very reason.  To much of a hassle.  But,  I meant on the airplane.

Yeah?  Their solution seems to be to simply have everything they sell anywhere in North America be in French, English, and Spanish...or at least the packaging.  Any specific corps you were thinking of because it seems like they have no problem with it, if the office supply boxes and manuals we get at the office all being trilingual are any indication.

[Palisadoes]

Quebecers should just stop speaking French and speak English instead. Problem solved.

Canada should merge with the United States.  Same culture, same language, same origins.  It's silly to have to seperate english countries in North-America.
They'd have to abandon monarchy though... that might not go well.

I'm unsure. The Yanks seemed to love the Royal Wedding.

[Barrister]

Question:  Does the 7-Up need to be labeled in French as well?

If it is sold in Quebec, yes.

Most American companies have complied without much fuss at all.

I know a lot of American companies don't do business in Quebec for that very reason.  To much of a hassle.  But,  I meant on the airplane.

Virtually all consumer goods in this country are merely labelled in both official languages (or even in English, French and Spanish, so they can be sold even more widely).  I don't think you can characterize it that "a lot" of companies don't do business in Canada because of language issues.