(Ottawa) The Trudeau government finally rules out the option of granting a “blanket” exemption to the bilingualism requirement to its employees who speak an Aboriginal language, but who are not proficient in English or French, and suggests that this could be done on a case-by-case basis.
Posted at 1:14 p.m.
Updated at 4:57 p.m.
In a statement sent to The Canadian Press, the office of the President of the Treasury Board of Canada, Mona Fortier, indicated that “a general exemption from official language requirements is not one of the options currently being considered” and that the government will “never” change the “fundamental principle of bilingualism” of the federal public service.
“The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that federal public servants meet the language requirements of their position, that they can work in the language of their choice in designated regions and that they provide government services to Canadians in both official languages, as required by the Official Languages Act,” added the minister’s office.
A government source told The Canadian Press on Thursday that the government is considering encouraging greater use of “non-imperative appointments.” This means that a designated bilingual position can be filled by a person who does not master both official languages, but who undertakes to do so through language training at public expense.
So far, M.me Fortier was blowing hot and cold on the subject after it was revealed on Sunday that senior officials are considering offering an exemption for positions where bilingualism is mandatory for candidates who speak an Aboriginal language and have sufficient knowledge of one of the official languages.
The Treasury Board Secretariat explained on Tuesday that it would be “premature” to take a position as an exercise is underway to develop policies to address “linguistic barriers to employment, retention and advancement of Indigenous peoples” within the federal public service and to “encourage a more inclusive work environment”.
“Improvisation”
For the Conservative critic for official languages, Joël Godin, Ottawa’s hesitations in the last few days show that it is showing “improvisation” when it takes “leadership” to protect a language in decline which is “barouetted from all sides, all sides by the current government”.
Mr. Godin pointed out that no later than Wednesday, data published by Statistics Canada again confirmed that French continues to decline in Quebec and in the rest of the country. “We are not able to protect one of the two official languages, so let’s not scatter over other linguistic situations,” he said in an interview.
As for the idea of making greater use of non-imperative appointments, Mr. Godin indicated that he himself has been taking courses to learn English on a “regular and rigorous” basis since his election as a federal deputy. “I’m not bilingual after six years,” he said. So I don’t think you can become bilingual: French, English, in the short term. »
The Bloc Québécois also believes that the Trudeau government “should never have dithered” on the issue. “There is no compromise to be made on positions where French is required,” summed up its spokesperson for official languages, Mario Beaulieu.
Mr. Beaulieu, who insists that he is in favor of the promotion of Aboriginal languages, believes that non-imperative appointments should not be used to “tamp down” French, “the only official minority language”.
However, he said he believes that Ottawa should improve the offer of French courses for First Nations members who wish to become bilingual.
The Federation of Francophone and Acadian Communities of Canada (FCFA) declined a request for an interview, but issued a statement in which its president, Liane Roy, wrote that the organization’s “priority” is to work with Aboriginal peoples to find ways to “make our languages complementary”, because “if they are put in opposition, it is the hegemony of English which comes out the winner”.
But, insists M.me Roy, bilingualism requirements for public service employees require managers who are able to speak both French and English in order to provide services to the public and to allow public servants to work in the official language of their choice .
Ottawa must “definitely” focus on increasing the presence of Aboriginal peoples and their languages in the public service, but this must be done “within the respect of existing legal frameworks,” she adds.
As of press time, interview requests to Minister Fortier and the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec-Labrador had gone unheeded.