"THE OTHER SIDE OF STORY IN QUEBEC"
hello friends..
I would like to share some shocking news story which I read very recently...
as we all are aspiring to enter in Canada and that too we are doing so by applying through qsw... so we must know some of the facts..
pls read the article first and MOST IMPORTANTLY.. read all the comments below this article:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/iga-suspends-supervisor-after-employee-told-to-only-speak-french-1.1344942
I am producing some of the several comments below:
"@Really? It is enough that one uses French first to customers since Francophones are in the majority. Forcing two workers who are not serving people to only speak french to each other if their mother tongue is something else is abusive. It presents the big lie that Quebec is all one happy band of Francophones. It is not. Not everyone here is comfortable with suppressing their own culture so that the majority feels comfortable especially since we have seen every attempt to mitigate the influence of Anglophones not only from public view but from the workforce and public service. When a child turns to their parent upon hearing English and is surprised thinking it is illegal to even speak it, when Montreal public transit workers tell us its against the law to speak English to their users and physically attack non-french customers for daring to speak English to them then the big lie has become the truth to some. Bill 101 mandates the primacy of French in the workplace in companies with 50 or more employees. It requires that written communications in those workplaces be in French. It also makes sure a Francophone has the right to work in French. It does not ban the use of other languages in serving customers and it certainly does not ban the use of a language other than French between non-Francophones or even Francophones if that was their choice. The Anglophone community is clearly demonstrating that the pendulum has swung too far and we will not support nor allow our language to be hidden from public hearing behind the walls of our own homes never to be heard on the streets or in the workplace. There are certain people advocating passing laws so only French should be heard in Montreal in public. They cannot abide that Montreal works bilingually in everyday life and work to create friction where virtually none exists. When a 17 year old speaks out as this young woman has done, it is a wake up call to those zealots who are taking the language thing way too far. Quebec is our home too and we are not going to be made invisible."
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/iga-suspends-supervisor-after-employee-told-to-only-speak-french-1.1344942#ixzz3C4O5zedi
"I find it very discriminatory to forbid someone to speak whatever language they wish to while on their break. The ability to be bi-lingual should not be frowned upon it is an asset to your establishment. As a bilingual (English/French) person who has lived and worked all around Ontario I have been exposed to many cultures and languages in the work place. In many parts of Northern Ontario it is almost necessary to be bilingual in English and French to obtain employment, I have never been told to speak on 1 specific language to customers/clients. To provide excellent customer service businesses hire individuals who can serve clients in both languages and you serve your clients in whatever language “the client” prefers, not the business. When serving a client depending on where I am living if I great them in English and they respond in French they I continue to serve in the language they are most comfortable with and vice versa. I have even learned to communicate with basic Polish language while working in an office with a large percentage of polish clientele and owners. There seems to be a double standard for many Francophone communities in Ontario and Quebec when it comes to language. Many English speaking individuals are expected to be able to communicate in both English and French but the French speaking individuals do not feel it necessary to offer the same courtesy."
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/iga-suspends-supervisor-after-employee-told-to-only-speak-french-1.1344942#ixzz3C4P92PdF
"Talk about going too far in the other direction. When I was a young girl growing up Anglophone in Montreal, French did not have the preservation of their language like they do now and things needed to change but this is too far in the opposite direction. This is outright stamping on people's rights and because of their current government, people like this supervisor feels she can get away with trying to wipe English from Quebec. Well, good thing for a young woman with the guts to go public on this. Sad thing is that the owner of the store would never have suspended the supervisor if she had not been caught."
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/iga-suspends-supervisor-after-employee-told-to-only-speak-french-1.1344942#ixzz3C4PTzfX6
"Typical, I've been to Quebec twice, had trouble with my debit card at a gas pump and there was no one who would help me because I only speak english and german. When I did get back to Canada( Ontario ) I kissed the ground. I will never return to that place as long as I live. Dumb part is that when people from Quebec come to saskatchewan I do everything I can to make them feel welcome. See I care about tourism, doesn't the government of Quebec get it."
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/iga-suspends-supervisor-after-employee-told-to-only-speak-french-1.1344942#ixzz3C4PtRv9G
"As an anglo living in Quebec (Hull), I understand everyone's frustration and anger over this and share it, as the french requirement to work in Quebec is very frustrating (understandable as you wouldn't have a purely french speaking person work at a Tim Horton's in downtown Edmonton, so why have an english person in a french city). Thankfully I have the advantage of working across the border in Ottawa, but I end up getting dinged on taxes. This situation of forcing staff to speak french on the staffs off time is yet another example of the language issue going too far in Quebec. Yes, since the quiet revolution, Quebecers have changed from identifying themselves based on religion, to language, but there is a difference between protecting your identity and barring others from expressing theirs. As long as the person is able to communicate to the public in the area that they live in, how they talk outside of that is not the concern of anyone aside from the people having that conversation. I give props to Meaghan for doing this, but sadly with the culture in Quebec, she is going to have a very hard time finding new jobs for the next little while after this."
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/iga-suspends-supervisor-after-employee-told-to-only-speak-french-1.1344942#ixzz3C4QGEmQD
"Quebec is reaping what it sows. In its continuing quest to demonize anglophone (and occasionally, allophone) Quebeckers, the government of Quebec has, by example, implicitly made it acceptable, and indeed encouraged francophone Québecois to look down on their fellow anglophone Quebeckers and treat them as something less than equal citizens, although they continue to take anglophone tax dollars for the collective well-being without returning fair value. It should come as no surprise to anyone that some francophone Québecois have taken their government's behaviour as license to "instruct" their fellow anglophone Quebeckers with their own interpretation of the law."
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/iga-suspends-supervisor-after-employee-told-to-only-speak-french-1.1344942#ixzz3C4Qa8TAK
"I lived and worked in Quebec...briefly.I felt like I was living under a dictatorship. There were some wonderful people, but working and being anglophone was degrading.I couldn't transfer from my position here to one in Quebec because of language barriers.I tried to learn the language but was not proficient...this was in a primarily English speaking area. I got a job at a factory and felt like I went back in time 100 years. We were not allowed to speak or ask questions..no one raised their head from their work.I had to change all my legal identification back to my Maiden name...even though I was not married in Quebec. What a nightmare.Then when I moved back home I had to change it all back again.There were some very compassionate and understanding Anglophone employers, but, it is the law ...even the it is part of Canada... to speak French to be employed. One company had us address the customers in french and if they responded in English we could speak in English."
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/iga-suspends-supervisor-after-employee-told-to-only-speak-french-1.1344942#ixzz3C4QuvoW2
