By Julie Hawrishok
Canada is one of the few officially bilingual countries in the world. As Molson’s Joe Canadian says in his anthem of a beer commercial, “we speak French and English, not American.”
But not all Canadians speak both languages so the federal government is striving to boost bilingualism. It is planning on spending $751 million over the next five years to make the country truly bilingual. In a truly bilingual nation, everyone would speak both official languages as opposed to the current state, where only a slight percentage are proficient in both.
Sure it would be nice if everyone could speak both languages. It might bring more unity to the country. Anglophones would feel more comfortable traveling to French-speaking regions and vice versa; Habs fans in Alberta could watch the game on RDS and news junkies across the nation could find a Quebec perspective in Le Droit.
It could also alienate some civil servants.
Bilingualism is important in this country, but the federal government shouldn’t push it on its employees. Most government job postings now state, “bilingual imperative” or “bilingual preferred” at the bottom of their list of available jobs. These requirements exclude a huge number of Canadians right off the bat.
In 2001, just over 17 per cent of Canadians were bilingual according to Statistics Canada, and less than 12 per cent of Ontarians could speak both languages proficiently. In Quebec, just over 40 per cent of the population is bilingual.
The Department of Canadian Heritage admits that Francophones speak both languages more often than Anglophones, due in part to the amount of exposure to the two languages. Proximity to more predominantly English-speaking communities and the fact that most media and communications across Canadaare conducted in English, make it more likely for Francophones to be functional in English as well as French.
The Department of Heritage says young children are more adept to learning both official languages. We can’t start penalizing people for where or how they were raised.
The bilingual requirement for civil servants is quite possibly driving talented people away. In Ottawa, most federal jobs require bilingualism and those jobs are on the rise. In 1978, 48 per cent of all National Capital Region public service positions were designated bilingual when 68 per cent of public servants were Anglophones. Today, bilingual positions in the National Capital Region have increased to 63 per cent and Anglophone representation fell to 59 per cent.
If the federal government won’t hire some of the country’s best and brightest, where are they supposed to turn? High-level positions in the private sector are now preparing for the onslaught of bilingualism and are seeking those proficient in both languages. If the country wants to retain the brightest minds and not lose them to the “brain drain,” accommodations must be made. If government jobs are being offered only to the bilingual residents of the country, few management positions will be available to the unilinguals. Official bilingualism will become a glass ceiling and will discriminate against educated unilinguals.