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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 10/30/2006 5:02:51 PM | Canada's not officially a bilingual country. Some provinces have declared official bilingualism - Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba. Not Quebec.
The federal government is officially bilingual.
Bilingualism is truly a bit of federal government wordplay, and as Ottawa is a government town, the issue is huge here. Its not really recognized as an overwhelming problem elsewhere.
What it does mean, as most of the posters have said, is that getting decent employment in this city is really difficult if you don't speak French, and getting a decent job with YOUR federal government is next to impossible.
Unfortunately, because the government is officially bilingual, that means your chances of working for 'us' anywhere in this country are slim, unless you parler francais. Of course, if you're located on the Quebec side, working for the federal government, you don't have to be bilingual.
Personally, I think its disgraceful. Far too much of our taxes are devoted to 'bilingualism', and have been since 1977. To satisfy a small segment of our population, in a small region of a very large country. If the true costs were know, for little to no successful end, I think the majority of Canadians - ALL Canadians -would be horrified.
IMHO | |
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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 10/31/2006 4:03:07 PM | "what i DON'T get is that since you know that this practice is in effect in this country, and has been since the 1970's....why didnt you get off your asses and learn the language...it was free in school....what does this bother some of you??...it should your the ones who figure fack the french we don't need it....and thats why you biatch about it....pretty simple."
You're funny. Why didn't every Francophone learn English? It's the dominant language, right? In Canada, and worldwide. Sure, keep your culture alive, but don't expect everyone else to do it for you as well. The French only make up a quarter of Canada's population, and only 19% in Ottawa, these days. So, what was their problem? Wasn't English offered for free in school for them, from the time that official bilingualism was introduced in Canada to accommodate Seperatist politicians who wanted to leave the Two Solitudes intact? And, (I guess) the Québequois who still don't want sovereignty - except on their new license plates.
The only real reason why French is mandatory for many Ottawa careers has more to do with the novelty of it, rather than an actual need for it. Are you still laughing? You shouldn't be. | |
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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 10/31/2006 4:37:55 PM |
what i DON'T get is that since you know that this practice is in effect in this country, and has been since the 1970's....why didnt you get off your asses and learn the language...it was free in school....what does this bother some of you??...it should your the ones who figure fack the french we don't need it....and thats why you biatch about it....pretty simple..
It isn't that easy to learn the language. I took french from pretty much grade 1 right up until i graduated high school and I do not understand a word. So, you might not want to just assume people are lazy, they just may not have the knack for learning a different language.
I have been with the government for almost 7 years now(in january) and like i said, i know no french, it depends on the job. I do data entry, so there is no dealing with the public involved and it pays pretty well, for the kind of work i do.
Good luck. | |
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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 11/12/2006 8:13:23 AM | I worked in Marketing & HR for over 15 years successfully until moving to Ottawa. Since living here I have been turned away for employment BECAUSE I am not bilingual even though the job required NO work to do be done in French and I had more skills and experience than their other candidates. It has been very frustrating to say the least and I am looking forward to moving out of this city once my kids are grown.
For a country that takes pride in their diversity of cultures it is quite prejudiced against anyone who doesn't speak both languages, even if they come from someplace else in the world. For positions requiring work to be done in both languages - fine - but for positions that do not require any french at all, why ONLY bilingual? Why keep out 87% of the professionally experienced & educated candidates?
For those who say I should learn French - even if I started learning it today it would take years to become fluently bilingual and thus I would already be past retirement age before I would ever be able to benefit from learning it. Telling someone to learn it is like saying - go back to university for 6 years then ask for a job... it isn't reality. The reality is we have to survive NOW - we have to be able to provide for our family and necessities of life. The bill collectors will not wait 6 years for us to learn a new language only to not even use it in the "bilingual" workplace. It's not realistic.
For those in high school and college/university I would encourage you to get both languages under your belt - for those of us too old to start - we create our own businesses where our language is the only required language.
There was a big report of "brain drain" as our most educated people left the country for better opportunities - the same is happening in government and bilingual businesses in Ottawa... instead of hiring the most qualified, they are hiring what they can get. I'm sure there are some, who are great at what they do, but I have seen the decline in services within the government and it is most certainly affected by the lack of pride in the work of the employees. This is what segregation is doing to the government in their shortsightedness.
As someone who worked in HR I can tell you that the best fit for a job is the person who not only loves what they are doing but they also take pride in their work, excel at what they do and strive to make the company a better place for everyone. | |
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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 11/27/2006 9:42:11 AM | Generally speaking, and from experience it's not really a necessity to know both languages. The only time I found the need for both languages is if you pick up a job in a call center, something to do with government relations or if the company you work for deals a lot with the Quebec side.
Personally, I speak 4 languages, where french is my weakest. I'm thankful for the fact that I get to use my 3 other languages daily and so my practice with them are up. The only time I find myself speaking french is when I'm on the Quebec side for whatever reason - and that's rare. | |
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Happÿ
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Joined: 12/19/2004
Msg: 31 | |
| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 12/12/2006 8:52:49 AM | With the latest census data concerning mother tongue in Ontario I find it unbelieveable that Anglophones and others have to speak French in order to maximise our employment potential.
Can't wait for this year's census to be published just to show the growth of non-official languages!
Population by mother tongue, by province and territory (2001 Census)
Ontario number
Total Population 11,285,550
Single responses 11,122,935
English 7,965,225
French 485,630
Non-official languages 2,672,085
Chinese 404,250
Cantonese 158,035
Mandarin 41,845
Hakka 2,245
Chinese, n.o.s. 202,125
Italian 295,205
German 156,080
Polish 138,940
Spanish 111,690
Portuguese 152,115
Punjabi 110,540
Ukrainian 48,620
Arabic 94,640
Dutch 69,655
Tagalog (Pilipino) 88,870
Greek 65,285
Vietnamese 55,240
Cree 4,405
Inuktitut (Eskimo) 160
Other non-official languages 869,400
for reference: http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo11b.htm
FYI: I was born in an English speaking home, learned French as a child, spoke it and lost it from lack of use. Took French language courses as an adult, got the job, lost the language from lack of use. French family background with over 300 yrs living in Quebec - 1st of my family born outside of the province. If I can't keep the language alive then it is NOT NECESSARY in Ontario to speak French in order to be employable. | |
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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 12/12/2006 2:37:09 PM | | Only slightly off topic but I have always laughed about Quebec's desire to separate in order to (among other things) protect their French heritage and language. Who would their major trade partners be? English speaking Canada who would really have no more reason to keep French as an official language and the U.S. who couldn't give a rat's a** about speaking French. | |
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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 12/14/2006 7:56:46 AM | Enough with the French language bashing! What's wrong with expanding your horizons and learning another language? The founders of Canada were French and English...there's a rich history, a tradition.
Yes, bilingualism is a requirement for many jobs in the federal public service but there are also many jobs that are unilingual, and the feds pay for you to go on language training and provide many other training opportunities. As a bilingual public servant, I've often been frustrated at having to translate texts for my co-workers because they couldn't understand. Translation has never been a part of my job description. It requires specialized skills. It is an art. In my opinion, there should be more bilingual workers in the federal public service.
If you don't like French or don't have the capacity to learn it, seek opportunities elsewhere, in another city or field where it is not required. No big deal. Having a university degree maximizes your job opportunities but not everyone has or wants one so they find employment opportunities in other areas.
BTW, French Québecois who work for the feds have to be bilingual as well if it is a job requirement. They aren't exempt because they are from Québec.
On another note, I am particularly amused when unilingual anglos **** about having to learn French when they clearly don't master the one language they've had a lifetime to perfect. The grammar, spelling, and sentence structure that some of you have displayed is weak to say the least. No wonder you can't be bothered learning French...a clearly more complex language.
For the record, the provision of services in French in Ottawa is pathetic so I really don't get what you are ****ing about.
I'm proud to be a Franco-Ontarian and to have the ability to communicate both in French and in English so well that you could never guess what my mother tongue is. All the ****ing in the world can't take that away!
Stop being so narrow-minded and embrace it! | |
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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 12/14/2006 8:39:51 AM | I'm tired of my taxes going to some place that doesn't even want to be a part of us .. let's get it over with . .. we'll ALL be better off. Learn Chinese ! lol  | |
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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 12/14/2006 9:21:30 AM | Interesting how Chinese as a mother tongue is about to overtake French in this province. I see it on a lot of bank machines now too. Thanks, Happÿ for the stats.
I live and work in the west end in high-tech, and just don't come across much French. In terms of on the job, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean would be certainly more useful than French. I do occasionally hear a coworker speaking French from time to time, but if I was fluent in French I would have to seek these people out on a regular basis and chat with them around the water cooler or something to try to preserve the skill. I agree with Happÿ that if you don't use it you will lose it. I do know lots of phrases and stuff, but the grammar rules just don't seem to stick because I don't use it. I butcher it so bad your ears will bleed.
We all have heard stories of government workers who have been sent to French language training at substantial cost to the taxpayer, just to have them not use it and thus lose it. Wouldn't it be cheaper to just have a dedicated pool of translaters available to anyone when needed, and divert these language funds into healthcare? Yes, I know, it is a big touchy subject. And the government is unionized so add another layer of bureaucracy around changing anyone's job description.
That said, I do like the elements of our country's French heritage. It was the French, English, and native populations banding together in the 1812 timeframe which kept the Americans from taking us over. See the history of the battle of Crysler's Farm which occurred not far from here. My ancestors helped settle western Quebec in the 1820s and my surname originated in Normandy France. So suffice it to say that I would be more than disappointed to see Quebec leave essentially over language.
Cheers,
-Jim | |
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Happÿ
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Joined: 12/19/2004
Msg: 36 | |
| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 12/14/2006 8:47:02 PM | Since I do not butcher the English language nor swear in forum posts I had a trying time reading one of the latest without getting a little bit hot under the collar.
So if there really is a need for good french translating and obviously only those extreamly well trained can master such a task then perhaps instead of insisting on a large group of people to be barely proficiently bilingual we should insist on specifically placed positions within the public service who hold such skills?
Then we would have quality service for these tasks as opposed to masters of none? (you know the saying).
As for moving out of the city I call home because of some silly rules passed a generation ago is nothing but insane... To propose that all non-french speaking persons should leave the city of Ottawa is quite extreame and perhaps should be thought out again. Who would the public service have left to serve?
I think a calm reading of the stats are sufficient to explain the unnecessary trend concerning bilingualism in the Federal Public Service.
One more thing, we are not french bashing. We are opposed to being forced to learn a language that although is quite a beautiful one, is not necessary to effective communication in Ontario much less Canada.
And tell me if you can, when will quebec decide to be bilingual and stop attacking business owners because of signage? Likely if such petty things were not part of quebec's recent history then perhaps, just saying perhaps, we wouldn't feel so insulted in our own province just because we speak English. Could you imagine trying to force a quebecer to speak English in Quebec just to get a job? Like THAT would last long.
As for quebec leaving Canada...I don't think so. Did you know that ages ago for the OUI or NON only those people who lived there at the time were able to vote? No citizenship for those who were born there and moved for family, work, retirement etc because they had no say in the outcome and yet....quebec is still here. Imagine if they allowed all their "true" citizens to vote? All those who were born there? No way would they do that because it would be....fait acompli? I'm sure someone here could fix my spelling on that little saying. | |
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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 12/14/2006 10:20:00 PM | I'm certainly not French bashing either. What I do dislike is government waste. Basic principles of economics tells us that specialization is a good thing for an efficient economy, else we'd all be having to grow our own food, building our own houses, making our own clothes etc. Pushing a skill onto the masses that can easily be handled by a much smaller group of specialists (eg. translators) is an economic waste, not to mention as Happÿ points out, a much poorer job done by the non-specialists.
Isn't Quebec's sign law still the only use of the Notwithstanding Clause in the country? I guess the argument that Quebec never signed the Constitution makes it somehow "ok" in their eyes, but the UN did formally condemn the sign law. The change Quebec made in '93 to allow other languages (less prominent than French) was to appease the masses claiming it was a violation of basic human rights.
I think Quebec is still in violation of the charter (according to the Supreme Court) regarding their limiting of English language public education, but they're looking at possible changes, lest we see another use of the Notwithstanding Clause.
I'm not out to Quebec bash either, just pointing out the facts. It is hard to have a rational intelligent objective conversation about the topic due to people's passionate emotional feelings on the subject.
If I were to enter into a relationship with a gal whose mother tongue is French, I would make an effort to learn it or at least get it to the point where the ears won't bleed. Or until she stops me from trying!
-Jim | |
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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 12/16/2006 7:39:10 AM | "The founders of Canada were French and English...there's a rich history, a tradition."
Really? Well, seeing as the topic is Ottawa and Bilingualism, let's take a look at that rich history. The founding of Ottawa and Gatineau (formerly Hull) is attributed to Philemon Wright, an American settler from Massachusetts, who took away this land from its original Aboriginal inhabitants and became quite wealthy in strip logging this area. The cliffs along the Ottawa River, between Parliament Hill and the National Archives building, are known to have been sacred Aboriginal burial grounds. The Ottawa Rapids, now dammed by Ottawa Hydro, was also a sacred Aboriginal spot. Ottawa was a disease infested logging town when Colonel By arrived from England and oversaw the post-War of 1812 construction of the Rideau Canal, in case of - ironically - American attack. Coincidentally, Wright mainly sold wood in Montréal - formerly the Aboriginal village called Hochelaga, that Cartier's colonialists took over for themselves.
That tradition you've lauded isn't looking too good...
Okay, let's look at the relationship between Ottawa and the former City of Hull. At the turn of the last century, a fire that originated on the Hull side of the Ottawa River razed homes from Lebreton Flats to Dows Lake. Hundreds of Ottawa families were displaced, communities were erased. The Smoke could be seen for miles, for days. The City of Hull did nothing to aide Ottawans. More recently, during the last Separatist vote in Québec, Quebecois working for the Federal, Provincial and Municipal Governments in Ottawa actually believed that they'd keep their jobs if the Yes vote won. However, the way that Québec chose to celebrate the long standing relationship between Ottawa and the City of Hull was to obliterate our common history by renaming Hull as the City of Gatineau.
It would seem that a rich history isn't much of a priority to Francophones after-all... unless it's a history that Francophones are comfortable remembering.
Back to your arguement. Only 19% of Ottawa's actual population is French, and yet you seem to feel that everyone who was born in Ottawa should either completely accommodate that tiny minority or move away - out of the country, it would seem. That I, as an Ottawa-born unilingual Anglo, should abandon my birth place if I choose not to set aside my heritage. How is that equality? How does that celebrate diversity or multiculturalism? Frankly, what it more closely resembles is revenge. Francophones outside Québec must learn English, and they resent it. Francophones living in Ottawa claim entitlement based on history, and yet they don't really seem to acknowledge Ottawa's history at all. | |
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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 12/17/2006 8:23:55 AM | For the record...
I wasn't proposing that non-French speaking people leave Ottawa. I like English and I like English-speaking people. I was proposing that they look for work in a domain where French is not required. For the record, there are many unilingual positions in the federal government. Furthermore, I was merely suggesting that those coming to Ottawa in the hopes of of securing a government job might want to consider other options (ie cities) where bilingualism isn't emphasized.
As for the history lesson, I was referring to the founders of Canada, not the Ottawa and Hull specifically. And yes, I'm fully aware that they trampled on the Aboriginals. Unfortunately, I can't control what political figures do. I'm good, but not that good.
As for Quebec, perhaps they should make more of an effort to incorporate English. But then again, once they do that, their French culture may not be so well preserved. It's a tough call. I, for one, am glad they are doing what they are doing. I don't want them to separate because if they ever do whatever services are offered to Franco-Ontarians now may not exist in the future. I'd like to preserve that heritage for future generations.
While Ottawa's Francophone population is small, as the capital of Canada perhaps we have an example to set given that we have two official languages on a national scale...and, as far as I know, they are French and English.
As for offending anyone's sensibilities, biatch without the a is not a swear word but it gets blocked out, leaving the reader with the impression that the word is worse than it acutally is. I could start a whole other debate on how stupid that is when this site allows half-naked/suggestive slutty pics and members three times the narcissist's age to vote...but I'll leave that for another day.
Have a great Sunday! | |
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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 12/17/2006 10:54:06 AM | I have been trying to tell myself not to respond to this thread any more, but I hardly ever listen to anyone, and mostly myself!
Bilingualism in the federal government - contrary to previous remarks, there are not many unilingual English or unilingual French positions any more in the federal government, and there will be even less in the months to come. The movement is to bilingual imperative staffing of all positions, except for the most manual, mundane, lesser skilled jobs.
I know this, because I'm a manager in the federal government, and have been for over 30 years. I am also bilingual.
I have a lot of issues with bilingualism, from the misperceptions, to the waste of taxpaper dollars, to the distortion of history, and the nullifying of those other peoples that did more to 'found' this country than those of French descent.
Official bilingualism is a fancy bit of federal jargon. We are not an officially bilingual country, nor are we an unofficially bilingual country. We are a multilingual country, and there are a number of other languages that deserve to be recognized and served by the federal government equally with French and English.
On the issue of bilingualism as a requirement to work in the federal government - this is a particularly ugly matter. Franco-Ontarians, and French-Canadians from Quebec lean heavily on the need for 'us' to learn French, if we want to work in the federal government. They've learned English, so why don't we learn French?
Well....they've been fortunate to learn English at an early age, because they lived in and around a major English city, and an English province. They had to learn English to survive.
Anglos in the Ottawa Valley and environs have had wide spread access to varying degrees of French language classes in school for about the past 25 years. Few, if any of those programs have had a high success rate in turning out fluently bilingual students. There are quite a few reasons for this lack of success - poorly qualified teachers, fragmented class times, inequity of funding, and of course, the difficulty English students and their families encounter in bringing a child all the way through French immersion, while maintaining high averages in the core subjects.
Outside of the Ottawa Valley, French is largely a non-issue. We anglo-Canadians, and all the other hypenated-Canadians, don't have easy access to quality French teaching in school in the other provinces and territories. Nor is French commonly spoken in the public sector.
So, unless you were raised in Ontario or Quebec, and took advantage of every opportunity available to you as a resident of this area, to learn le langue Francais, you won't be working for your federal government.
It is inconceivable to me, as a Canadian, an Ontarian, and a long (long)-service federal employee that the best person for the job can't have it, unless they can also parler francais. The Official Languages Act of 1977 did all Canadians a tremendous disfavour. | |
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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 12/17/2006 12:39:43 PM | Well, we could all debate this until we're blue in the face. Clearly, there are two decidedly different camps when it comes to official languages and learning "la langue française"
I found this interesting little tidbit of simplified info. I'll share it and leave it at that because clearly I'm one of a few willing to defend official bilingualism and French language rights.
I applaud the Official Languages Act.
"Inhabited first by aboriginal peoples, Canada was founded as a union of British and former French colonies.
Canada is a federal constitutional monarchy with parliamentary democracy. Comprising ten provinces and three territories, Canada is a bilingual and multicultural country, with both English and French as official languages at the federal level.
Canada's two official languages, English and French, are the mother tongues of 59.7% and 23.2% of the population, respectively. On July 7, 1969, under the Official Languages Act, French was made commensurate to English throughout the federal government. This started a process that led to Canada redefining itself as an officially "bilingual" nation.
English and French have equal status in federal courts, Parliament, and in all federal institutions. The public has the right, where there is sufficient demand, to receive federal government services in either English or French. While multiculturalism is official policy, to become a citizen one must be able to speak either English or French, and 98.5% of Canadians speak at least one (English only: 67.5%, French only: 13.3%, both: 17.7%)."
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CCM
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Joined: 12/7/2006
Msg: 42 | |
| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 1/20/2007 10:16:34 AM | Lets see.......I was born in Montreal, most of my family is French except my father who was English only. Now that must of been fun ...him meeting a French lady, who had 4 children and not one of them spoke a word of English. Isn't love grand..hahahaaa Ok, to make a long story short, I was spoken to in both languages since I could remember. I understand, read and can speak French quite well. I work for the Government as well and I have just one gripe about the French language as far as jobs go........This mandatory bilingualism to get anywhere in the Government is not right. I have done those French tests and for some reason, I get the required marks for the reading, writing and yet the oral test...can't seem to get anything but an A on it (an A is not good btw). I have lost three competitions because I did not meet the oral qualifications in the French language and trust me it's not because I did not try. I think what has made me angry the most is when they end up taking the 7th person on a list of people for the job only because they have the so called French level. This person had about a 70% on the written exam as far as knowing the job and so forth, yet because they passed some French test ..they get to move up the ladder while all the others who were better qualified have to keep trying.
Another thing....is the money that is wasted on having people who will be retiring in about 2 years have to go out and study French for a year just to keep the job they had been doing for the past 30 years. I think, if you are not working with the public, and that you have both french and english speaking people working in the same office, why do you need these so called language levels to perform your job. Oh and plus....they have the Translation Bureau... they are paid to translate.
I have lived in both provinces yet how come in Quebec the signs are not bilingual or that you don't see an English sign on the Quebec side? Oh yeah..........I forgot ...they have the Language Police...making sure the English signs are not seen. Amazing.......but that's my opinion. | |
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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 2/9/2008 6:55:29 PM | And, in recent news, the bilingual guy who successfully sued Air Canada because he could not order a COKE in the french language, has been demanding that all bus drivers be required to call out stops and greet passengers in both French and English.
Regarding bus stops, exactly how many streets have a name that is different in French than in English? Regarding getting greeted, I don't care if the bus driver says one word to me.
And of course, the guy defends the fact that bilingualism isn't required on the STO because the "French language must be protected".
In any case, the most french I ever come across is on the O-Train where all 5 stops get called out automatically in both french and english. OC Transpo plans to introduce the O-Train system on buses eventually so calling out stops will be irrelevant.
In any case, French ain't required in my job and I deal with customers all day. If I were to became bilingual, then I'd be on the short list of those having the ability to converse with the french customers, and that's not something I want. In any case, I much prefer dealing with the foreign ethnicities. They're friendly and tip well 
While this is not intended to offend, IN MY EXPERIENCE (just want to make that clear), French people tend to be snobby, and have a flawed sense of superiority.
On an unrelated note, I've tended to avoid the profiles which have french on here. I choose not to learn French because I don't believe I should be required to speak french. | |
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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 2/10/2008 3:20:29 PM | High profile jobs in the public sector and the private sector require many skills. If one of them is bilingualism, and you're not, too bad, move along.
It's like complaining that because you were poor in maths, you are entitled to get tons of cash working at Stats Canada, or be an accountant, or an engineer, whether or not you can calculate.
People whine about their shortcomings and transfer blame to others by incorrectly rationalizing that they represent a whole community, yet demand special privileges and less responsibilities.
I'm not very tall, I'm 5'7", should I complain if I can't be a firefighter, a bouncer at a cool bar, or a basketball player? Unlike this scenario, you all have the CHOICE to acquire French or English as a second language. Less complaining, less discrimination, and more work and learning would get you much further.
If you are not cut off to work in positions of authority, social/public jobs, or anything requiring bilingualism as a skill at a workplace, either (i) learn what you need to learn, (ii) move somewhere where bilingualism is not important (plenty of areas in Canada), (iii) become a politician and change something, or my favorite, (iv) go work at Tim Horton's or McDonald's...
We're in a democracy, but it doesn't mean the world is going to accommodate your every whims. A lot of people worked hard to get good jobs, if you didn't get one, it's not the world's fault entirely, I'm sure. And most countries around the world have more than one official language, look it up on Google or Wikipedia...
And no one thinks that you should excel at your second language, "functional" competence is rather easy to acquire, and quite welcome in a lot of work areas. No one is asking you to be Shakespeare or Victor Hugo.
No hard feelings.
- A multilingual citizen of Canada who works hard - | |
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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 2/10/2008 5:40:55 PM | | When I was up in Ottawa. I looked for work but because I am not bilingual, I could not find a decent job. I didn't want to start at a tim horton's. And even shopping centres want french to work at some of their stores. | |
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| Ottawa and Bilingualism
Posted: 2/11/2008 5:29:46 PM |
the Francophones who make up 19% of Ottawa's population don't seem to believe that it's good for them to learn another language like English. It's only good for Anglos living in Ottawa to become fluent in French, apparently
I would just like to mention that the French school boards require students to learn English as of grade 3 (it may be sooner now, but it was like that 20 yrs ago) and English is mandatory throughout high school. Students attending French schools in Ottawa are fluent in the spoken English by junior high and fluent in the written English by the time they graduate high school. We studied the same books, the same plays, the same grammar rules, etc.
English students are simply required to take Core French in high school. French students don't have the option of 'immersion' - We have no choice but to learn the language, and learn it well, since our diploma requires it.
Other than that - This subject has been debated ad nauseum and I won't spend valuable time debating if it's right or not. We live in the National Capital, we should expect it.
A. | |
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