Immigration lawyer Gabrielle Thiboutot could not believe it: a partner service of the Government of Canada demanded that a request for an applicant for permanent residence addressed in French be redone in English to obtain a response.
“Google translate, they weren’t tempted? Who took the time to write that he wouldn’t answer because it’s in French? At the office, we couldn’t believe it! We were wondering if it was a joke… but no!”, laments the lawyer for the firm Exeo in the face of this disregard for the right to be served in one of Canada’s two official languages.
On March 28, Mr.e Thiboutot wrote to the Canada Visa Application Center in Saudi Arabia, as part of the process to obtain permanent residence in Canada. She had been supporting her client of French origin for two years towards this objective. All communications in the file had been made in French until then.
On March 31, a reply in English came to him, saying this: “Referring to your email, please kindly send us your query in English so that we can assist you.”
At the end, the service desk employee writes: “In our constant efforts to improve the level of customer satisfaction, we ask that you provide us with your valuable feedback on the response provided.”
Photo provided by Exeo Avocats
Gabrielle Thiboutot laughed yellow.
“We responded with a rather scathing email, sent to fairly high-ranking managers, because we did not understand the request to write in English. At all times, we should be able to be served in French!”
No excuses
There was never an apology made afterwards. The lawyer, who due to the requirement of English, had to do extra work to rewrite to the Embassy and then to liaison officers, later found that the file had been transferred to Ottawa, where he completed in his mother tongue. The French client of Me Thiboutot was finally welcomed as a permanent resident in Canada.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, which oversees visa application centres, had not answered our questions at press time.
Even if a requirement to formulate a request in English is a rare experience, Gabrielle Thiboutot considers that it should never happen in Canada. In his practice, this is an additional irritant in a context where Francophones are increasingly disadvantaged.
“I’m discouraged because sometimes it’s a madhouse… For French-speaking students, the federal government refuses them at 47%, while Quebec has accepted them! We also manage the emotions of our clients who have trusted us,” she said, adding that the appeal procedures are long and costly, so many do not have the means to access them.