Canadian Language Education Questions

[Berkut]

Bigotry is certainly bad, but the only thing worse is bigotry espoused in the name of fighting imagined or historical bigotry.

The road to hell and all that...

[Grallon]

A hierarchy of bigotry!  Such a convenient conceit...



G.

[PRC]

The eventual resolution to this topic must be separation for Quebec because the status quo is apparently not satisfying.  The experiment will be sink or swim for the Quebecois.  I envision a Northern Argentina with a poor economy perpetually close to default while also being hostile to immigration... but perhaps the resources of Quebec's North will be exploited to her gain, opportunity for a thriving tourism sector is there but what if the tourist's aren't French speaking? 

[garbon]

Opportunity for a thriving tourism sector is there but what if the tourist's aren't French speaking? 

Well they've let me be a tourist many times without speaking French.

[Berkut]

Are officials in Quebec required to be able to speak English?

[Valmy]

Are officials in Quebec required to be able to speak English?

It seems so, at least if they are Feds....or whatever they call Feds in Canada.  Provincial officials probably don't.

[Valmy]

The eventual resolution to this topic must be separation for Quebec because the status quo is apparently not satisfying.

I don't follow.  It might be something else.

[Jacob]

A hierarchy of bigotry!  Such a convenient conceit...

G.

Exactly. Bigotry against gay people is no better and no worse than bigotry against muslims.

[garbon]

A hierarchy of bigotry!  Such a convenient conceit...

G.

Exactly. Bigotry against gay people is no better and no worse than bigotry against muslims.

I don't know. I mean one group is fabulous and it should be a crime to hate that.

[Grey Fox]

Feds is right.

@Berk It's probably a requirement for judges & lawyers. I don't know how many officials speak english in the further reaches tho. Then again the native northen populations speak english not french.

[Berkut]

I guess what I am wondering is if an English speaker in Quebec has the same legal rights/opportunities to be served by the government in his language that French speakers in the rest of Canada have to be served by the government in their language.

I think the answer is no - because Quebec is NOT officially a multilingual province (it is uni-lingual) but the rest of Canada is officially bilingual.

[Grey Fox]

Only one province is bilingual, new brunswick, all others are unilingual. The federal government is bilingual.

[viper37]

If I am in a company of people where everybody speaks one language and then only some of those present also speak another language, I just find it impolite to start talking in the language not everyone in the group understands - this goes both for speaking Polish in an English speaking group where not everyone understands Polish, and vice versa.

So, you infringe on people's individual rights.  How intolerant of you.

[viper37]

Translation: bureaucrat appointed to office designed to promote official bilingualism finds: opposition to bilingualism the worst example of bigotry possible.  Is completely unable to understand why unilingual anglophones feel disadvantaged in the federal jobs department compared with folks from Quebec - so the notion must be bigotry, not rational self-interest. Because lord knows, if there is one thing completely alien to a federal bureaucrat, it is rational self-interest.

Those comments were made before he was named Commissioner to the official language.
But I knew you would dismiss it, just as you over-exagerate the horrible plight of the Quebec anglo community.

Always the double standard

[viper37]

Is completely unable to understand why unilingual anglophones feel disadvantaged in the federal jobs department compared with folks from Quebec - so the notion must be bigotry, not rational self-interest. Because lord knows, if there is one thing completely alien to a federal bureaucrat, it is rational self-interest.

Prime Minister: bilinguism not required.
Cabinet Minister: bilinguism not required.
Supreme Court judge: bilinguism not required.
Federal court judge: bilinguism not required.
Deputy minister (and all variations): bilinguism not required.
Head of RCMP: bilinguism not required.
Head of CBC: bilinguism not required.
Head of CSIS: bilinguism not required.
Head of Via Rail: bilinguism not required.
Top 10 jobs of any crown corporation: bilinguism not required.
Top 10 jobs in any government department: bilinguism not required.
General sollicitor: bilinguism not required.
Auditor general: bilinguism not required.
Member of parliament: bilinguism not required.
Judge of any court in BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, NS, IPE, NF&L: bilinguism not required. (btw, you can't be judge in Quebec's superior court unless you are bilingual french-english, and possibly a card carrying member of both Liberal's party too )
Crown prosecutor: bilinguism not required.
Head of Canadian armed forces: bilinguism not required.


That's horrible!  Being trapped in such a, a... bilingual (!) world!  How awful that people living in a bilingual country might be forced to learn -argh- French! (of all language!) to get a position at 35k/year serving as a secretary for the under deputy minister of transportation!
Yikes!  What an horrible, horrible fate imposed on our comrades from English Canada

And you know the worst part?  That one is beyond evil.  If a qualified government employee had the wish, the required qualifications and the seniority to occupy a bilingual position, a unilingual english canadian can still get the job, so long as he attends french classes.  Now, force someone in a bilingual position to attend french classes paid for by the employer, that's nazi-esque, to say the least.  And it costs billions and billions of $, all those employees getting a 30$ bonus on their bi-weekly paycheck...