Dear All,
Thanks D in Ott,

I have always wondered why unlike many western countries our own motherland can't do away with the bar on upper age. Efficiency / diligence / intelligence & many such criterion are not enslaved to one's marriagable age.

One can be into research in early days and still wish to apply and serve thru federal / govt job, may be as an administrator.

regards...

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ashbamor

Guys....I am still waiting for the answers....Please reply....

regards

Maverick

Tue, August 10, 2004

Bilingualism battle heats up
Group set to take city to court
By TOBI COHEN, Ottawa Sun

THE CITY's bilingualism policy is going to court next month. Canadians for Language Fairness, a group opposed to official bilingualism, wants the language bylaw scrapped and will seek such an order in court.

A statement issued by the law offices of J. Arthur Cogan says lawyers are completing an application to "strike down" the policy, arguing that it exceeds the city's jurisdiction as set forth in the province's French Language Services Act.

Lawyers will also argue that the policy infringes the right to freedom of _expression.

"The mandate given to (the city) was to provide service in the language of choice, but the language policy of the City of Ottawa has tried to establish that that is not enough," Canadians for Language Fairness president Kim McConnell told the Sun last night.

"They want employees to be able to work in the language of choice. They want workers to be supervised in their language of choice and we all know what happens when that is established."

COUNCILLOR NOT WORRIED

Arguing it's easier for a minority to learn the language of a majority since they are immersed in it, McConnell said a similar policy has resulted in an over-representation of francophones in the federal public service.

"Thirty years of bilingualism at the federal level has shown us this is what is happening and it cannot be allowed to also happen at the city level," she said.

Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. and staunch bilingualism supporter Jacques Legendre said he won't be "losing any sleep" over the pending legal matter.

"I wish them good luck," he said sarcastically, noting the current bylaw is identical to one passed more than 20 years ago by the old City of Ottawa. "If it had been something problematic from a legal standpoint, surely it would have been challenged many, many years ago."

He believes a provision in the policy that allows current unilingual city staff to occupy senior positions deemed bilingual provided they undergo French training during a 10-year transition period is more than adequate.

FOCUS ON EDUCATION

As for future generations who aspire to work for the city in a senior position, Legendre said people will simply have to plan their education accordingly and he believes they've had more than enough time to do so.

Canadians for Language Fairness, which says it represents 1,100 people across Canada, plans to file its application in Ontario Superior Court in mid-September.

tobi.cohen@ott.sunpub.com

Here is the line of thought being pushed by Francophones accross Canada....Nobody is arguing the ability to get service in French, what we are arguing is the right to WORK in French and to communicate with your fellow workers in French; to have all paper work printed in French & English is a total waste of money; French workers forming cozy little French-speaking cliques alienate the other people in the office. This alienation factor is very real - ask any unilingual employee in the Federal public service right now!!

Do you think it will be any stretch to start arguing that even a Francophones colleagues must speak French?



The Ottawa Citizen
Saturday, August 07, 2004

Language questions


Re: Bilingualism shouldn't always be top job requirement, July 28.

Letter-writer Josee St-Jean apparently knows some things the Ottawa public doesn't know.

Perhaps she could share with us how a unilingual public servant can provide services to a public that has the right to obtain tax-paid public services in either of Canada's two official languages in the national capital?

Then she could go on to explain how a manager or supervisor can hire, communicate with, do performance evaluations on, and generally manage staff adequately when that staff has a right to work in either of Canada's official languages in the national capital.

Based on those realities, perhaps she then could also share with us how she would avoid making ability in both official languages a bona fide requirement in the national capital, and how she would justify hiring a unilingual person who does not meet all the requirements for a position.

Andre Payant,

Ottawa

It was correctly pointed out that not 100% of federal jobs require French....this is true...it is more like 60%

But, believe me, the way things operate is that the managers and management want everyone bilingual...if you are unilingual they might have to pay to give you french training...so if there is a francophone in line for the same job, or promotion, they are more likely to pick that person over you.

Merit goes out the door, when it comes to French. In bilingual jobs, unilinguals get screened out even before they assess merit.

Do you think that it is fair to Desi's that we might already be treated as 2nd class citizens because of the way we look.......but now they must add to that the treatment as a 3rd class citizen for not knowing French??

10 Punjabi/south asian MPs were elected to parliament...please email them and ask them to raise this issue.

Competition is intense for the fed govt jobs in the hitech area since the IT bubble burst. There are number of experienced local programmers who were laid off by big and small firms are still looking for jobs.
So tell me who will have a better chance?

I can tell you this much because I am "in the know"...I can't reveal more without identifying myself but I work in a federal hitech area.

The hitech jobs go to the French speaking or Francophone candidates who get the first cut ...they get first chance because it is cheap to hire them and they will not be requesting french training as soon as they join. Yes, experience is important but in the federal jobs most of the positions are entry level because it is based on promotion from within...they are very less likely to hire top dogs at top salaries from outside.

So the ideal candidate (i.e. experience) would have maximum 1-2 years experience...but also...the ideal candidate knows French. Yes, they will also hire desi's because they have quota's to fill....but again...most are stuck in the positions they were hired in because the promotions go to the bilingual candidates....there is a huge gap in the percentage of desi managers...vs desi employees in the federal govt...for this reason alone.

Just ask any francophone looking for a federal job...there are very few in Ottawa who can't find work because they get hired very fast.