A French parking management giant is seeking to recruit employees in Montreal who speak only English, an illegal practice in Quebec. The company pleads “error”.
“It’s either recklessness or contempt,” indignant Maxime Laporte, president of the Mouvement Québec français.
On the Indeed job search platform, the parking management company Indigo publishes several job offers in Montreal.
At least three of them specify that it is “compulsory” to speak English.
In two cases, which concern valet and receptionist jobs, it is specified that knowledge of French is only “desired”. The third contains no details about French.
The Charter of the French language, however, prohibits companies from requiring knowledge of English or of a language other than French as a condition of employment, “unless they have the approval of the Office québécois de la French language (OQLF)”, confirms to the Log attorney Julius Grey.
“It shows that there may be information that is not yet reaching business leaders about the status of French in Quebec,” argues Mr. Laporte.
“Beyond the advertisements of the peregrine falcon, it should be ensured that the message of the Minister of the French Language is more clearly understood by companies”, he adds.
A French company
With approximately 80 parking lots in Quebec, including more than 45 parking lots in Montreal, Indigo prides itself on being “the most reputable brand in the parking industry” in Canada.
The Indigo Group, operating in nine countries, was founded nowhere else than in Paris, in the land of Molière, “which is all the more ironic”, underlines Mr. Laporte.
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This is not the first time that a parking company has caused controversy by its non-respect of French in Quebec.
In 2021, The newspaper had been unable to be served in French in the parking lots of Target Park, whose operators are all based in Toronto.
“A mistake”, says the company
Questioned by The newspaper, the Indigo company responded by email that the requirement of English in its three job postings was “a mistake”.
“I have been confirmed that it was an error when posting the job posting,” wrote Yan St-Pierre, senior director of human resources at Indigo.
For the Minister of the French Language, Jean-François Roberge, the situation “raises [tout de même] questions”.
“With the improvements we have made to the Charter of the French Language, the right to work in French is now better protected than ever. An employer who requires proficiency in a language other than French must be able to justify it,” said the minister in a statement sent by his cabinet.
“I sent the job offers in question to the OQLF, which, I am convinced, will do the analyzes and the resulting interventions,” concluded Mr. Roberge.
“The Office will analyze the situation raised concerning job offers and will make the necessary interventions with the company so that it makes the necessary corrections,” said OQLF spokesperson Chantal Bouchard. .