In 1994, I graduated from St.Lawrence College with Distinction as a Registered Nurse. Over the years, I have worked locally & in the USA specializing in four areas; Critical Care, Operating Room, Post Anesthetic Care Room & Hemo-Dialysis units.
Recently, I resigned from the Cornwall Community Hospital due to the inability to obtain full-time employment or advancement in my career. My obstacle being that I am English only and not bilingual (English and French). There is a systemic problem with unfair language requirements in healthcare in my hometown of Cornwall, ON. This is worrisome to me on several levels. Are the most qualified healthcare professionals being hired? Are people in our community getting the highest quality healthcare they deserve? And finally, what is our government doing to protect the rights of English speakers?
My children are enrolled in French Immersion; but at the end of the day will they be deemed “French” enough to garner a good job? Will they benefit from this social engineering? An RN must speak A- French to work at Cornwall Community Hospital. An RN must be bilingual to work at Community Care Access Centre. When an RN must be bilingual to administer a Flu shot, and yet, at the same time, life-saving CPR training is only considered an asset for employment at the Eastern Ontario Health Unit; I ask, where do we draw the line?
I am thankful to have my New York State Nursing licence. I am currently employed at a hospital in New York State as a Full-time Nursing Supervisor. However, many professionals in our community are not so fortunate and are forced to either relocate or give up their careers, entirely. Sadly, highly educated nursing graduates from St.Lawrence College will never have the opportunity to work in their own community, due to this unfair language legislation.
Recently, a group of concerned citizens formed a non-profit organization; Language Fairness for ALL. Our goal is to promote fair hiring practices. If you are concerned about your future, your childrens’ futures or your grandchildrens’ futures, I urge you to support LFA. Together we can make a difference!
Debbie Cameron RN
Long Sault,ON
(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)
If I came to the hospital in an ambulance after having suffered a heart attack it wouldn’t matter to me whether you administered the CPR or defibrillator in English or French. After all what is really important? The hospital mandate is to heal us and is not to weed-out non-bilingual staff.The care and the expertise of the doctor or nurse is important and it wouldn’t bother me if they spoke Swahili or Chinese or any other language. The narrowmindedness of the Cornwall Community Hospital is mind-boggling! Why do we allow idiots to run such an important necessity?
Stanley, most English speakers do not organize and complain as a unit. Also the very few English groups that are out there, are non-profit, have no paid staff and receive no government funding. There are hundreds of Francophone associations that are well funded by all taxpayers, and have full and part time paid employees because of that funding.
I think most of us would like to work as one community and create a better Canada, the Official Languages Act, Charter of Rights & Suggestions and judges interpreting and making laws with a slant towards a “minority” is stopping that.
http://www.languagefairnessforall.org/
http://languagefairness.net/
http://www.galganov.com/section-2b/
http://www.asnb.ca/
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/francophone/organizations.asp
http://www.fcfa.ca/fr/Who-We-Are_25
http://francocornwall.ca/ lists 16 associations
Good one Debbie…
Debie wrote, “This is worrisome to me on several levels. Are the most qualified healthcare professionals being hired? Are people in our community getting the highest quality healthcare they deserve? And finally, what is our government doing to protect the rights of English speakers?”
I would add. What is the point? Why is the rest of Canada bending over backwards to “accommodate” a people (generally speaking) who have basically gone out of their way to not only OUTLAW the English language in the province of Quebec but often follow the in the footsteps of of their mindless leaders who have given them what amounts to open license to treat non French “pure laine” people with total disrespect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GUkNVjM4Gc&hd=1
Not to mention how they view ANY ENGLISH language as “an insult.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBc5gzuHbKI&hd=1
They are constantly telling us they want nothing to do with The English language, the English culture
http://youtu.be/AD-mHpMpBSw?t=4m29s
and, for that matter the Canadian flag.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hKXw24la-8&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBz6fce9Sw8&hd=1
What is wrong with us Anglo Canadians? Are we some type of ultimate masochist? Are we so “nice” that even when people blatantly telling us — and show us — in their actions day in and day out how they detest anything English,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GUkNVjM4Gc&hd=1
that is still not enough for us to take a stand and simply show the same sense of pride for the English language and the English culture in return?
Seems to me, even though they would not like the “push back”, a people acting in the manner that the French powers that be are acting, and a people with “THAT TYPE OF MENTALITY”, would actually admire a the English for standing up for themselves as opposed to a group that simply lays down and accepts all the inequity and unfairness.
Let’s be honest here…
FOR ANYTHING TO WORK in ANY “fair” venture, there HAS TO BE EQUALITY AND things have be RUN as A TWO WAY STREET.
WHAT WE HAVE IN CANADA RIGHT NOW IS NOT EQUALITY
YOU CANNOT treat the English like shit in both the province of Quebec and else where outside of Quebec where you gain a majority and expect the English to lay out the red carpet for you every where else in Canada.
What? REALLY? Are the English supposed to forget about how the French have passed laws in the province of Quebec that make English people second class citizens in that province?
C’mon people… ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
Debbie wrote, “My children are enrolled in French Immersion; but at the end of the day will they be deemed “French” enough to garner a good job?”
Many parents feel forced to do this but, really… This is totally unnecessary and also and too costly to attempt in a country where (EXCLUDING QUEBEC) has a mere 4-8% number of people that speak French ONLY. That’s 92% – 96% NON French. What are we doing? Are we crazy? Who brainwashed ALL OF US into thinking this way?
What the hell is the point when we have this on the opposite side of this little “skewed” arrangement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUPk2sijbgs&hd=1
Given that we have allowed the French to take over the province of Quebec and turn it into “France 2.0”, can we not just simply adopt a simple straight forward approach of saying OK, you can do whatever you wish in Quebec — French this, French that — French only or whatever — BUT — when dealing with the federal government or venturing outside of Quebec, we take a page directly from them and SAY…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rpJbxjT564&hd=1
IN CANADA — You MUST be able to speak the MAIN COMMON LANGUAGE of the very country you are venturing into — ENGLISH — IN CANADA. (and yes, i realize this statement removes Quebec as a part of Canada, but, that seems to be how they want things to be and how they already treat the province of Quebec now anyway so…)
Get motivated. ACT. Get in touch with the various groups and GET INVOLVED.
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—-ooO-(_)-Ooo——-
College alone is not enough these days to be a registered nurse – you have to go to university to have the qualifications that they demand today. People have to be fluently bilingual and in a French school. French immersion is good as well but not enough unless you are always on practicing the language with others who are French. My daughter got in the French school thanks to my husband’s nephew who lived with us for some years here in Ottawa and he was able to speak to the principal of a French school to let my daughter in. Back in 2006 when my daughter was having treatment for her thyroid at the Civic Hospital we saw all part time for nurses jobs and not full time. Many people whether nurses or any other profession or ordinary jobs are a lot of part time. It is good to be licenced for different provinces as well as the US and you never know what happens and always best to be free of home ownership. People don’t know what is coming but I sure do. There is no price for freedom.
Are there any hospitals in Canada that hire full time nurses anymore. I know several nurses in Ontario and BC. None can find full time positions even where language isn’t an issue.
Hey Jules…
For you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX-h4s6dOoM&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAPVYkLYJKI&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO9lZkPu8zk&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpvha-oe0Hw&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD8UOwJJ4D4&hd=1
And lastly… Pay special attention to the wording at this mark in this one.
http://youtu.be/i7itdLsvn8I?t=4m43s
Jules, you see nothing wrong in your comment? ” People have to be fluently bilingual and in a French school.”
In 2011/12, Ontario had combined primary & secondary, 1,946,437 students in English and 96,680 students in French. Should the almost 2 million kids just apply for welfare right away leaving all the jobs for bilingual people? What a sorry state we are becoming over language, we should be uniting not dividing.
Oh, there you are Furtz. What happened to all those comments you were going to make about the silly French and how they sent inspectors for the on and off buttons on the microwave and the start and stop buttons on the copy machine.
I WAS SURE you were going to berate them as you normally to do to English people when they bring up French signs in Ontario or other things you deem to be “petty” in your eyes.
Oh And, i was sure you were going to comment on this Canadian military man who was lied to and had some dude at the “ministry of education” try to scare him into removing his daughter from… duh duh dhuh duhhhhhhh — ENGLISH — school in Quebec.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm-gjE5B5OY&hd=1
Yes, i was sure you would have SOME “comment” about how petty and ridiculous this was. Still waiting.
Or wait, do you only attack English people for being petty? is that it Furtz? Are the French not petty enough for you ?
or is it just more “entertaining” to go after the English people like you did with Eric and the flags or Cory and the woman at the post office?
That was you right Furtz? I am pretty sure it was…
On that note i would like to wish you a “we are all still waiting for your comments regarding the petty anti English things the French are doing” kind of day eh 🙂
October 9, 2013 at 1:48 pm Eric wrote, “Jules, you see nothing wrong in your comment? ” People have to be fluently bilingual and in a French school.”
In 2011/12, Ontario had combined primary & secondary, 1,946,437 students in English and 96,680 students in French. Should the almost 2 million kids just apply for welfare right away leaving all the jobs for bilingual people? What a sorry state we are becoming over language, we should be uniting not dividing.”
Well said Eric but, it seems obvious that it it a question of WAY TOO MUCH FREE TIME, too many family memories or “tid bits” that are only interesting to ONLY a select few and not enough in-depth knowledge and understanding.
😉
Eric and folks most jobs today are part time no matter what language you speak. Companies like hospitals, government, etc. are doing what they can to cut back. The economy is to blame for what is happening and I heard this way back in the early 80’s era what was going to happen today. My supervisor’s son who was an economist with the federal government knew what was coming and our supervisor told us. The government is making things more complicated for people today and want a population that is more educated and skilled in order to compete. Today nurses (registered nurses) have to have university and I have seen university student nurses way back when my kids were being born and that was in the late 70’s and even before that students were going to university because they knew that it was going to be in demand in the future.
In order to be able to speak French you have to use the language all the time. If you do not use a language you lose it.
Eric welfare has nothing to do with being qualified or not. When you cannot find work especially in a place like Cornwall then you have no other alternative. People have to eat, pay rent, etc. When we came to Ottawa we were very surprised to see so many food banks which did not exist in the past the way they do today. You would see a few but not like it is today. Many people are having a terrible time. Cornwall has been a depressed town since 1960. 1960 was when Cornwall started to go downhill and in the 1980’s things got a lot worse and many left town to other cities for work and life. French was always in great demand in Cornwall even way back in the 40’s and 50’s era and that is the truth. My much older sisters had to have that language and once could not find a good job without it. My eldest sister who was a nurse (registered nurse and chief supervisor of nurses) got by with basic French but if she were still a nurse today she would not be able to continue being a nurse unless she brushed up on her French. The French people have been put down for too long and now they are gaining ground.
@Jules & Furtz…..absolutely right. Part time is not only in hospitals anymore. It is cost cutting measures in order to survive…….a sign of the time.
Debbie wrote: I have worked locally & in the USA specializing in four areas; Critical Care, Operating Room, Post Anesthetic Care Room & Hemo-Dialysis units.
Hmmm I would assume that three of those positions would require some knowledge of the French language.
Debbie asks: Are the most qualified healthcare professionals being hired? Are people in our community getting the highest quality healthcare they deserve? And finally, what is our government doing to protect the rights of English speakers?
How can one question or even doubt about another person’s competencies or who is the best candidate for a job if one is not involved in the hiring process? I think it is safe to say if a nurse isn’t qualified he/she wouldn’t be nursing.
I and many others believe we are getting the highest quality health care we deserve, especially considering the size of Cornwall. Our hospital has made tremendous progress over the years thanks to many caring people in this community.
Hmmm wondering what English rights must be protected. This country has two official languages. One is as important as the other and the gov recognizes and respects that..
Sadly many had to give up their professional career not only in nursing and it had nothing to do with language.
With all the cut backs, new technology and many other factors there are only so many jobs to go around. To blame our economic woes on language is somewhat farfetched
“edudyorlik” no I see nothing wrong with what I said about French schools and I will tell you why. In a French school all your subjects are in French except for English which they start learning in grade 3 and you hear only French spoken all the time and it sinks in. When we first had my daughter enrolled in a French immersion in a bilingual school (English school) here in Ottawa it was not enough to really grasp on to the French language and that is the truth.
We had a hard time to get our daughter in a French school and it was thanks to my husband’s nephew to make it happen. He lived in France for 5 years and I guess that they liked to hear that and he spoke for us and my husband speak French fluently at home and outside the home as well as English. There are kids who are very gifted in language and are able to pick it up very easily and we knew of one little girl here who was in a French immersion in a public school and did very well. She was a gifted child (same age as my daughter back then) and not everyone has that gift but she had it. French is necessary and a must and I can tell you that all hospitals here in Ottawa demand it. Our doctor’s secretary says the same thing about those who do secretarial in the hospitals that it is demanded and if she were to go and apply that she would be turned down. She told us that she just gets by (basic French) and that it isn’t enough to converse with others.
My daughter worked for 10 years in a company here in Ottawa that is from Toronto. She worked on many contracts that they had during that period. My daughter was asked to stay with that company so as to work on a call centre and she declined because of where we live and to catch the buses would have been impossible because of the shift work and where it was located. The jobs that she sees today are part time but soon she said that she may apply to them anyway. One of her co-workers works across from where we live and she will speak for her. My daughter was working all the way out in Kanata and everyone else declined from working there including those who live out there – the stress was terrible as is and one of her co-workers (the one working near where we live) went into a nervous breakdown over the kind of treatment that they all received. My daughter had a very good work ethic and was never off sick except for the time that she had viral pneumonia and the doctors told her that she cannot go back to work for a month and had 2 doctor’s certificates to prove that she was sick and what she had.
The vast majority of jobs today are part time and different shifts and you have to take what is out there. No job is heaven and everywhere you work they want just that your work.
My daughter has thyroid disease and she is worn out all the time being tired and forces herself to do things. Travelling that distance was a real killer on the buses and people could hardly believe that she was travelling like that and sick.
Wow! I sure seem to have gotten under Kilroy’s skin. Relax, Kilroy. My opinions really aren’t that important… just ramblings from a happy and contented Anglo. BTW, the pizzas we brought home from Toto’s in Lachine were delightful.
Just my opinion, mind you, so don’t get too upset if you prefer Milano’s pizza.
Back to my question re the hiring of nurses:
Are there any hospitals in Canada that hire full time nurses anymore?
When our supervisor told us about how things were going to change when the 90’s came around people had a hard time to swallow what she was saying until Jean Chrétien started to let go of many people in the government and what she told us was not just the government but even private industry was going to do what is known as “job sharing” because there are too few jobs for the amount of people out there.
You can have all the degrees in the world and wind up with less money than what you should be earning and shorter hours. There was a tenant in our building the very first year we set foot here and the very same week we saw his car “literally plastered with lettering looking for work in his engineering line of masters degrees – 2 of them electrical and mechanical” and I can tell you that we were in literal shock to see a man of his calibre with no work them and that was in 2004. Many people told my daughter then that she was lucky to have found work then at such an awkward time of the year.
The US is in mighty big trouble financially and will be bringing down the rest of the world. I received an e-mail yesterday from a man in Ireland talking about how bad things were over there and I told him that people here in the far west have not seen anything yet what is going to happen. Yesterday I came across something where in Spain people are going to have to pay for “using the sun” solar energy and how many times have I heard this coming out of some people even for the air we breathe. You would say “Jules have you lost your mind that cannot be” and yes it is true and coming. They said that many people will lose their homes and cannot afford the taxes that they have to pay and getting worse. There is more coming than what I want to even say to you because you would say that I lost it more than what you all think I have. No I am telling you the entire truth and when I say hang on to what you have in money I am right because hyperinflation is coming and your dollars will be more like pennies. There is no way at all of any recovery. What they say in the US is false and it would take no fewer than 200 years to get rid of the debts. Obama is borrowing from other countries and he doesn’t know when they all call in the note. If you have any kind of a job then you are lucky. My parents suffered through the 30’s great depression and so did my much older sisters who never forgot it as children.
Not under my skin at all Furtz. NOPE… Just anxious to know what you think of those “petty” things the “others” are bitching and whining about. You know… Shhhh… I’ll say it quite like.. The French…
I am desperate to know what you think of those on off buttons on the microwave and the start stop buttons on the photo copy machine. http://youtu.be/6AIg11uJw94?t=1m49s
You seem to be so darn vocal about the other things it just seems natural that YOU SHOULD have something to say on this topic.
Oh yes and the Canadian military father.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm-gjE5B5OY
Please tell us what your thoughts are about how he was lied to by that over zealous little dude in the department on Education in Quebec. You know the department that is headed by Marie Malavoy, the woman living in CANADA and working as a “provincial minister” who called the English language “a foreign language.”
Imagine… A department head for the “PROVINCIAL” ministry of education, which i am sure receives tons of Canadian tax payer money in order to see to it that she gets a nice fat pay cheque every two weeks and a pension plan filled with Canadian dollars when she retires, referring to the English language a “foreign language.” Just despicable, don’t you think Furtzie?
Or, is that just OK cause it’s not an English person with a petty gripe. C’mon Furtz. Tell us all how you feel about such things.
How about what you think of this paramedic who refuses to speak ENGLISH (in Canada no less) to this panicked father of a — 2 year old that could be dying —
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3t72RUYAls
Yup, figures…
On that note i would like to wish you a “inquiring minds want to know” kinda day eh 🙂
@Eric. See what I mean ? 🙂
@yorlik This article is not about Quebec education nor Quebec politics. A matter of fact it’s about hiring practises right here in CORNWALL ONTARIO. Ca-vas?
Debbie,
Thanks for telling us your story. Of course I was privy to this information for some time now and it was difficult not to get worked up so to speak on the subject of your empoyment woes. If nothing else, readers of CFN should realize how crazy it sounds that although you’re not considered qualified to give a flu shot in Ontario due to language requirements, your’re considered qualified enough in NY state to be employed as a nursing supervisor!
You’d best sleep on that issue, readers! Think about what this means for the English majority who cannot find jobs in their own hometowns!
Albeit though, for the most probable part, it’s the English cattle that have been led and will most likely continue to be led to the slaughterhouse over this issue.
Keep moving West English until you cannot move any farther off of Vancouver Island!
Debbie Cameron said:
“When an RN must be bilingual to administer a Flu shot, and yet, at the same time, life-saving CPR training is only considered an asset for employment at the Eastern Ontario Health Unit; I ask, where do we draw the line?”
You must be bilingual but CPR is an asset ?
Does anyone see an issue with that ?
So as it seems that it is not important that you can resuscitate a person but more important you being bilingual ?
Wow I cant believe I read that ,so a dentist can work perform cardiac surgery because he is a bilingual doctor?
But then again social engineering at work because the health unit is 100% BILINGUAL to serve that 21%.
Health unit 100% bilingual
CCH 50% + bilingual
CCAC 80% bilingual
Courts 75% bilingual
Provincial government 65% bilingual
ect,,,ect…ect…ect…
All to serve that 21% ,ya right …more like to hire that 21% .
SOCIAL ENGINEERING AT ITS BEST: DR.GOEBBELS WOULD BE PROUD OF THIS STATE CONTROL.
DEBBIE at least you get to work in a TRUE DEMOCRACY where all are treated equal and whereby LANGUAGE APARTHEID DOES NOT EXIST .
CANADA has created a CLASS SYSTEM SIMILAR TO INDIA’S ,where only a certain class has government employment opportunities no matter the education or merit and it appears you are a shining example of this .
I am sure there are many Canadian professionals that head south for opportunities to AVOID THIS LANGUAGE APARTHEID .
Oh by the way Debbie how many languages are served at you hospital and do they hire only on language criteria as bilingualism is mandated here.
You know that only one language(French) is mandated outside of English in Ontario and it is the 12th most spoken language in Ontario ,but we must serve that 4% with hiring a minimal of 65% bilingual.
Now say you own a business in a predominant black area 96% ,yet you hire 65%+of white folks to work there …….now really think of that folks …..now realize this Health unit hires ONLY 100% bilingual to serve 21%.
I remain committed to the PRINCIPLES OF EQUALITY and representation by population serves SOCIETY WELL.
In most democratic societies this would be considered fair ,so why has our government encouraged this gross misrepresentation? ….SOCIAL ENGINEERING as Jules said they all must learn french!
Lets keep our politicians accountable and ask for “fairness” and institute representation by population.
As for employment opportunities those hard to find full-time positions should not come with strings attached (bilingual) but merit,but clearly as bilingual mandatory and CPR an asset, I guess one can at least talk in french to that corpse!
ON October 9, 2013 at 5:14 pm Cory Cameron wrote, “readers of CFN should realize how crazy it sounds that although you’re not considered qualified to give a flu shot in Ontario due to language requirements, your’re considered qualified enough in NY state to be employed as a nursing supervisor!”
INSANITY ISN’T IT Cory? (and Debbie)
What’s worse is that this is creeping into this country ever so slowly, like a slow but deadly cancerous tumor which left unchecked it will eventually consume the whole country.
They have programmed the English to “believe in bilingualism” while they push unilingualism in their own strong hold enclave
If you don’t believe that just go back a few years and ask yourself. Were people like Hungry for lies and Stella going around erroneously claiming that Canada was a completely bilingual country?”
And, were there FRENCH ONLY health care clinics in the East of ONTARIO. Ad was the Montfort hospital (a renowned teaching hospital for all area Doctors and Nurses) operating all IN FRENCH ONLY?
Cory wrote, “You’d best sleep on that issue, readers! Think about what this means for the English majority who cannot find jobs in their own hometowns!”
Well said again Cory. This is our Anglophone wake up call and people had better wake up soon.
Have you heard the “CANADIAN” Anthem lately. It is sung in practically all French. ADD to that the fdact that the ENGLISH LANGUAGE is outlawed in the “province” of Quebec, CANADA.
MOST JOBS in Ottawa, Ontario MUST be bilingual to cater to the tiny numbers but HUGE demand for French.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui_XgfFceYc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxHI4-ZLpxs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUPk2sijbgs
Yup well said Cory and once we have all gather in the western most provinces then they will come for us and the Chinese there. And then it will be
BONJOUR COMMENT CA VA?
Bye bye British Canada…
SAD SAD SAD
It is a sad day when the people who serve me are fluent in franglais, but can hardly be understood in English. Why are they getting all the jobs? Give your head a shake already. Sad, sad, sad
So many people fly off the handle and don’t understand what it is all about. I understand what Debbie Cameron is going through including the Cameron Brothers but people are not understanding what it is all about. It isn’t just about a French/English thing at all and is about how many people are applying as a nurse, lab technologist, secretary, clerk and the list goes on and on. I see mostly foreign people here who are nurses and lab technologists and they speak many languages like English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, along with many others. They get hired before a lot of Canadians because they can deal with the people and they get paid a lot less. Teaching, journalism and some other professions are highly competitive and getting a great deal more so and people have to have other things besides so as to compete with someone else and get hired. Some journalists are lawyers and yes no kidding many have more than one degree. If you have a job then than the Good Lord that you have one. As for remaining in Cornwall forget it – people have to move on and we sure did that. When we first came to Ottawa I was only 23 years old and we made it. It was a real shocker at first until I adapted but I did and I like it.
In B.C. the students are learning the Chinese dialects of Mandarin and Cantonese and yes those are in demand and getting more so eventually. Don’t be surprised that it will spread this way. A lady at a nearby drugstore is Chinese and speaks the dialects and she is an assistant to the pharmacist. At a downtown lab I heard one of the technicians speak in Russian and there used to be a Russian X-ray technologist around here before they closed their business. These people do speak many languages. My daughter had a Chinese lady as a supervisor where she worked and before that there was a Russian sometime before along with some Canadians. Yes don’t be surprised to see more foreign languages coming this way. I said it so many times before that the more you know the better you are. I wasn’t pulling your leg but was telling you the truth.
Sorry Kilroy, but I’m not into watching youtube vids unless it’s Willie Nelson or Billy Brag and such.
You should really get a grip on your anger at my comments. Seriously, my opinions are not that important, and your reaction to them is worrying. Stay calm. Wait for the signs. And be the best you can be. Just don’t blow a gasket on my account.
Unfortunate that more of our public institutions do not take a page from the police services sector play book. To be reflective of the communities specific needs they not only take note of how reflective they are of minority members in the area they service but in respect to language my understanding is that they strive to meet the ratio. Therefore hiring practices in Cornwall would require that they maintain 20 – 25 % bilingual officers to meet demands. This means they can also hire English only officers who meet the requirements. Common sense approach, respectful and inclusive.
This French thing like I said is not all the issue. You have no idea of what is happening in the US and many highly educated people cannot find work and those who are lucky are working at MacDonald’s slinging hamburgers and also right here in Ottawa. Even they want the French language as well. All this is about competitiveness. Yes Debbie, Cory and Chris’ jobs are mighty hard and nobody needs to tell me about that at all. I volunteered back in the 60’s era in both Cornwall’s hospitals and I along with others were run off our feet helping out with the dirtiest jobs and we saw what the nurses go through and it is a living hell. French is something used so as to cut down on the amount of people applying.
Some years ago I worked at the Military Hospital here in Ottawa through the Public Service and I did that for three months of a contract. Most of those who were like me working on word processing doing histories, operations, etc. were bilingual and only a few were unilingual back then. I had no previous medical training then nor today but the government in those days was desperate for people especially bilingual ones and I did well. I then got a call to go and work for engineers and I jumped at that one faster than you can imagine and liked the people that I worked with and did that for three months. I also worked in Hull Québec and loved it there with the people that I worked with and did that for three months and did many jobs like that. Bilingualism has been called for from way back when that I can ever remember. I worked permanent back in the mid 70’s till 1985 because I had to be home with my kids since sitters went back to work and others were not good.
I worked with two registered nurses when I was permanent and they were burned out on their jobs and they much preferred to be clerks at much lower salaries than to go back as a nurse that is how hard that profession is. When the Camerons complain about not having permanent work in Cornwall and area say “Thank you Lord for at least giving me this opportunity to work in my field even part time”. There is plenty of misery out there Debbie and Cory and Chris that would make you cry. The world is in terrible trouble financially and our Canada is in huge debt as well and are not telling the people the truth because otherwise people would be on the hill with pitchforks and anything else you can name to throw the bums out of office.
I also, quit my FULL TIME R.N. position at “THAT’ Hospital many, many years ago & got a fabulous job in N.New-York. Language issues were not, the reasons or the cause of my departure at that time. Basically, that was the era, when discussions were starting to swirl, regarding the amalgamations of both Hospitals. Along with administration issues, the working environment became toxic. The patients & the “front-line” workers came out on the losing end. The proof is now evident, in the bloated administration, we now have. Ask any “front-line worker, they’ll tell you !
Come to New Brunswick and see the mess it has become, French is French, English is bilingual that’s how this province rolls. We have 2 Health networks, one is french, the other is English only difference is the English side must be bilingual. We have been fighting for years regarding bilingualism in this province. Healthcare in our province is 40% of the budget, We are the only OB Province in the country and yet we run the province on segregation.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/duality-s-long-grip-on-new-brunswick-politics-1.1228423
We have had MLA’s in the past bring up the issues regarding bilingualism and duality in this province, this is what happened to them: 1 was fired and 2 were forced to apologize after the Acadian Society felt insulted
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/parrott-s-ouster-from-pc-caucus-revives-duality-debate-1.1132937
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/pc-mlas-apologize-over-duality-comments-1.1020266
We now have a Union bringing up the issues regarding the bilingual requirement in the Anglophone heath network. The language Commissioner here is pushing the bilingual requirement hard on anglophones.
When is bilingual requirement enough, here’s 2 stories for you:
10 year vet nurse denied full time employment as she was not Bilingual enough
http://www.topix.com/forum/ca/moncton-area-nb/TMSMTBHQ9IPUABC62
This long story will really hit the mark:
http://shituationroom.blogspot.ca/2009/07/dr-andrew-trenholm-sets-record-straight.html
Our province which is $11 billion in debt, we have a $500 million deficit, our government is laying off 1k positions between the 2 health networks, front line workers. Our government tells us that OB is our biggest asset, yet we have had no job growth in 11 years, our education system is failing anglophone students. We have the highest rates of illiteracy in the country, new report today showing this has been an issue for the last decade, in 2008 the government back then changed the french program to grade 5 citing the goal was to make sure children learned the basics in reading, writing, and math/science, also citing the the education system wanted a goal of 70% of anglophone kids to graduate fluent in french. Neither of these goals have been met.
Recently, UdeM (french university) invited all political parties to a open to the public debate on education except for one party because this university did not like one of the platforms they had on ending duality, saying the french language is very fragile and ending duality would hurt the french. Weeks later our government releases this: New Brunswick Population Growth Strategy 2013-2018
http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/post-secondary_education_training_and_labour/promo/PopulationGrowthStrategy.html
Now please remember, we have had no job growth in 11 years, we have a population 750k-/+ were only half is working and paying taxes and anglophones being denied work/promotions etc yet our government wants to bring in more french immigration. 32% of the population is Bilingual (mostly franco’s) 58% is English, 10% is french only. Making this province 90% of the population understanding English. We anglophone go through school learning french because its mandatory and its not good enough to past the provincial testing to become bilingual, we have had many anglophones spend countless hrs and money learning french and being told it isn’t good enough to pass as bilingual. Got a welfare system that does nothing to help people get off the system, there’s no education support or employment support, hell you don’t even have to prove your looking for work once your on the system.
Just like to point out as well, our OLA was never debated or discussed and the last meeting they had regarding the OLA was done behind closed doors.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/official-languages-act-being-reviewed-in-secret-1.1185993
Committee was made up of mostly Franco Bilinguals, We the Anglophones in NB have been raising our concerns for years and they have been ignored. We are loosing our rights.
Willie eh…? Good ol Willie. Can’t go a day without smoking a dozen doobies.
Now, don’t you be worrying your “little” head about me Furtzie..
All i was trying to find out is your opinion on issues where by “the French side of things” are being petty since you seemed to be quick to jump on folks when they complained on the English side of things.
Go ahead buddy ol pal. Put some of that Billy Brag country music on in the back ground and let fly with it. Let your fingers do the talking Tell us how you feel about that Canadian military father being lied to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm-gjE5B5OY
and how you feel about that nice polite lady on the bus being spoken to in FRENCH as if she was a piece of dirt in her own ENGLISH dominated country.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GUkNVjM4Gc
C’mon… let loose… Yeee haw… Pretend you’re Billy Brag or Willie…
C’mon give us all some of that all knowing insight there Furtzie. Here’s your chance.
And on that note, i would like to wish you a “one sided windbag’s R us” kind of day eh 🙂
Jules you are telling us that we all need to learn French and at the same time you are telling us that if it wasn’t for your husband’s nephew, your daughter would not have gotten into the only school system where one would learn to speak French fluently. You even go on to tell us that the French Immersion program that your daughter was enrolled in, wasn’t going to be good enough. Now your daughter would have grown up in a French/English environment right? So for the rest of us, who do not have French background and no French relatives to convince the French school Board, how should we go about becoming bilingual as you say we all should. As Stella would put it. Hmmmmm.
@Debbie
Thanks for having the courage to speak out & share your story.
I too have many of the same concerns as you. Cornwall Community Hospital expects the majority of its staff to be bilingual. As far as I know only housekeeping is exempt.
I am happy you found work in the States, but at the same time its crazy to have someone as qualified & experienced as you are to not be able to work in Cornwall. I believe Cornwall is 85% English…What a brain drain we are allowing to happen in our own community.
There are many others wh are victims of forced bilingualism, we need to band together & demand fairness!!!
Time for a protest I’d say, the only way to change things is to pressure the right people!!!!
Healthcare has certainly been dummied down with this social engineering in our Cornwall Hospital.It is disgusting that language would ever prevail over who is best for the job.Bilingualism is a great asset but should never trump education & experience, Our hospital once boasted a multicultural staff where elderly or visitors could be treated with an interpreter if necessary in Mohawk,Greek,Chinese & punjab maybe even other languages but no more.Where numbers warrant should have been the more intelligent choice for staff of hospital & all government jobs.One girl at hospital that I know who is just retiring after a 30 year career cannot be rehired as a casual employee because she does not speak french,does that make any sense..of course not! But Cornwall,s brain drain will be USA,s gain.Thank you Debbie for telling your story,here is hoping that it wakes up a lot of people to the new reality of social engineering where English grads cannot find employment in our own city. http://www.languagefairnessforall.org
@NB New Brunswick is one of TWO officially bilingual provinces and second to Manitoba which entered confederation in 1870, I believe, as a bilingual province . This status was briefly reversed but reinstated in 1985.
The letter from NB at October 9, 2013 at 8:03 pm deserves its own letter to the editor space in every paper across the country!
“Come to New Brunswick and see the mess it has become, French is French, English is bilingual that’s how this province rolls. We have 2 Health networks, one is french, the other is English only difference is the English side must be bilingual. We have been fighting for years regarding bilingualism in this province. Healthcare in our province is 40% of the budget, We are the only OB Province in the country and yet we run the province on segregation.”
I’ll try again.
Are there any hospitals in Canada that offer full-time (with benefits) nursing positions anymore?
Furtz they still hire fulltime but in Ontario and NewBrunswick the strings attached are they must be bilingual.
So the determining factor to go from part-time or casual to full-time is being bilingual ,not merit.
Why should language be the determining factor?
Hell with Skills ,Education ,Experience it leaves 80% of those Qualified people out for one reason BILINGUAL IS MANDATORY.
It seems this “mess” generally starts in the same typical way with the French side asking for “just a little bit” of — French input, or French schooling or a French university or a French whatever… It’s usually a small enough request that people feel, ah what the heck, that’s nothing. no big deal. nothing to worry about there. We only want French to be provided by the federal government and parliament as you know has now been pushed to it’s limits with private businesses like Air Canada and Via rail following along because they were, at one time, federally mandated and then we have the (OLA)
Then as a result of the wording that helped put this “little bit” in place and how that wording is generally so open ended with such a broad scope, this “little bit” ends up as a “huge bit” before you can blink twice.
Then, before you can blink again there are 65 French action groups and organizations involved which are triple dip funded by every level of government and whammo, THE PUSH IS ON.
A SURE LESSON to be learned. Something to think about folks when soem French group shows up in your small area asking for “just a little bit” of recognition.
This is highlighted in the post by NB HERE:
NB wrote, “Premier Frank McKenna interpreted that as a popular mandate to push ahead, and the New Brunswick legislature and the Canadian Parliament both ratified an amendment to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Section 16.1, that included language similar to Bill 88. At the time, McKenna and his ministers assured New Brunswickers the amendment would not broaden duality—it would only enshrine the status quo.
“We’re talking about it in the sense of an education and cultural institutions,” cabinet minister Vaughn Blaney said at the time.
“There’s no change from what we have now, physically. There’s no financial obligation.”
But some skeptics, including Confederation of Regions MLA Brent Taylor, pointed to a slight difference in the wording of Section 16.1. It says the two linguistic communities “have equality of status and equal rights and privileges, including the right to distinct education institutions and … distinct cultural institutions.”
— Taylor warned — that the word “including” might lead the courts to “open a window” to a right to duality beyond education and culture.
Taylor’s comments were prescient: francophone legal scholars who advocate broader language rights now point to that very word, “including,” in making their argument that Section 16.1 could imply a right to dual health institutions.
AND THEY DID. Just like Stella and Lives for lies do here. They speak past what the intention was with the idea of implanting the concept of what they say (rather than what is) in every ones mind.
@NB…….Your type of economic situation is not only happening in NB, Like Jules said, it’s all over and going to get worse. Why always blame the French?
Open your eyes, times are a changing and it has nothing to do with knowing French or lack thereof. Should the US continue it’s downward spiral it will have a major impact on the world economy. So….quit blaming the French for all the world’s problems.
I couldn’t wait for success
So I went ahead without it……”Winters”
Highlander: BILINGUAL IS MANDATORY
As it should be…….
Furtz, you can apply here http://ca.indeed.com/Full-Time-Registered-Nurse-jobs
Highlander, Nova Scotia started a bursary for French Nurses in 2006, but they look at it as an asset not must have.
The writing is on the wall English need not apply stand up and fight English Canada it is not to late If you want to get a job in Cornwall change your name to a french name,,,
I’ll try again TOO…
Furtz, I am just trying to get your opinion on issues where by “the French side of things” are being petty since you seemed to be quick to jump on folks when they complained on the English side of things.
That’s only fair. Let’s hear what you have to say about “the other side” and their “pettiness.”
Go ahead buddy ol pal. Like i said, put on some of that good ol boy music in the back ground and let fly with it. Let your fingers do the talking.
Tell us how you feel about that Canadian military father being lied to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm-gjE5B5OY
and how you feel about that nice polite lady on the bus being spoken to in FRENCH as if she was a piece of dirt in her own ENGLISH dominated country.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GUkNVjM4Gc
How does that make you feel Furtzie?
And on that note, i wish you a “i’ll try again too” kinda day eh 🙂
Debbie,
I am became familiar with the French language issue early in my career as a English speaking nurse and like you decided to send my children to French immersion which did make them fluently bilingual and certainly was an asset when they attained employment.
But, also like you, I have never believed that language should take precedent over skills and abilities especially in health care. Putting so much emphasis on language certainly restrains employers from recruiting the best and most qualified candidates for the available positions.
I do hope you success in your endeavour to change this serious flaw in the system.
Take Care,
Diane Shay
I have taken the time to read all of this and here is what I got out of it:
-The Majority of the readers of CFN are English speaking only.
– Anyone who speaks french must be some type of seperatist or could only possibly hate all who are Unilingual.
– If we do Speak french, we should move to Quebec.
– Because someone isn’t french, that is the ONLY reason they are being refused jobs.
– All Bilingual staffers are being hired full time because they are fluent in multi-languages.
Lets stop and disect some of the points brough up by the writters here.
1. I have over a dozen friends who have graduated the Nursing Program here at the College. Either the RPN (2 year college deploma) or Laurentian University Program through SLC (4 year Uni). 90% happen to be bilingual. Not a single one of them was hired full time at the hospital to start! NON! Who do you people think you are saying that its because of this they will be hired? Are you HR at the hospital? I didn’t think so…
2. You all speak about having more skills for jobs is what should be the biggest factor in hiring a person. Not language. So, if 2 people, with the Exact same qualifications apply for a job, 1 speaks 1 language the other speaks 2, Which would you hire? the one who can help 100% of the population or the one who can serve 79% of the population (according to your 21% being french, which, is false).
3. You say that to have only bilingual staff to serve clients would not make sense because of the “small” french population in the area? What about the staff of nurses who have been at the hospital 20 years + who can’t speak a word of french? they cant serve the 21%, so they need to compensate by only hiring those who speak it.
Would you be upset if you were unable to speak to a Nurse who couldnt speak your language? I would! I would be livid! So why would we take that right away from an French spoken person?
4. Knowing more then 1 language is a skill and education. Just as you take a CPR course or another course do to Hemo-Dialisis you can take french. its that simple. SO when you apply for a job that has a qualification requirement on it, and you dont have it you say to yourself ” Gee, I should probably go and take this course to better educate myself for this position”.. Same thing applies to language.
5. I have nothing agains Anglo only society. My mother has been with the Hospital 30 years and teachers Students through Laurentian here at the college. She did not speak a word of french. Decided that, because of the changing working world (like everything else in life) she would educate herself in learning a second language. Does she speak french fluently: NO. Does she write french fluently: NO. Does that paper say she is “Legal Bilingual” : Yes!
Is the system flaud: Yes. But dont hate on those that speak another language. If you are truly concerned about finding employement because of a recent graduation or simply because you are unemployed then do what is necessary! Educate yourself, push forward and do what is needed. Or type away and complain about how the system is bla bla bla…
I am bilingual. I am proud to know 2 languages. But I will never belittle anyone for speaking one or the other.
Highlander asked;
“Oh by the way Debbie how many languages are served at you hospital and do they hire only on language criteria as bilingualism is mandated here.”
Thanks for the question.
The institution I work at requires staff speak English,however, we have translation services available as needed. We can accommodate for up to 170+ languages.
On a side note, when I started in New York many staff asked why I decided to work there & I explained because I was English I could not get full-time or meaningful employment as an RN in my hometown of Cornwall,ON. Their immediate response was, “that’s discrimination”….
Here you go Furtz!
Full-time RN position & imagine bilingual mandatory…
Put that in your pipe & smoke it!
https://ohwstamcg.ottawahospital.on.ca/psprd/HC90PRD/TOHlookup.jsp?id=1
Forget it Kilroy. I’m not gonna watch your youtube BS or respond to your every question.
I appreciate your interest in my opinions, but they really aren’t that important. You’re the one who’s on the freedom-fighting mission. I’m enjoying the great fall weather and getting out on the bike as much as I can before winter hits.
Notice how few monarch butterflies and honey-bees were here this summer? Didn’t think so.
Carry on.
Thanks concerned citizen 2. That’s enlightening for sure.
I’ll dig out my pipe and fire it up.
ON October 10, 2013 at 10:53 am WolfnotSheep wrote, “Knowing more then 1 language is a skill and education. Just as you take a CPR course or another course do to Hemo-Dialisis you can take french. its that simple. SO when you apply for a job that has a qualification requirement on it, and you dont have it you say to yourself ” Gee, I should probably go and take this course to better educate myself for this position”.. Same thing applies to language.”
Firstly, i would like to say, welcome to the “conversation”
Secondly, I am compelled to say, your “solution” is indeed NOT – THAT SIMPLE –
Why you ask, is it not that simple?
Well, my answer would have to be…
WHY?
Why SHOULD the English majority allow themselves to be forced to HAVE TO learn French in their own country???
Because you are saying, “it’s wonderful concept?”
Or, because the French, as a tiny minority of maybe 4% over all have decided that because they refuse to speak English that this is the thing to do? And, rather than follow the age old norms of society where by the majority are the ones that guide the route (with the normal allowances for minorities factored in) and the minority fall in place.
You know, EXACTLY how — THE FRENCH powers that be majority — have ZERO PROBLEM demanding of the English minority in the province Quebec accept how they, being the majority there are running things there.
Funny how you — and THEY — don`t seem to see this simple concept at all.
Sure, in the “big wonderful — ahhh, life is just great isn’t it… “ picture, the idea of knowing more than one language is all nice and wonderful indeed there wolfnotSheep. I grant you that
BUT…
There is — MUCH MUCH MORE — to this situation than just a harmonious — let’s all run hand in hand through the meadows and be bilingual together — type of scenario.
So, NO… It’s really – NOT THAT CUT AND DRY —
The way things are being attempted right now amounts to the French minority “FORCING” the English majority to learn French simply so that the English majority can be gainfully employed in their own majority Anglophone country. Yikes…
When you peel off the first layer of THE REAL REASON for this happening this way, you find that the idea of the majority English being “forced” to learn French is simply a mechanism geared towards accommodating the minority French who have a chip on their shoulder about language and culture and as a result have determined that the best route to take towards them having power and being in control is for them to simply resist learning English at all costs.
There is a whole lot of deeper chit going on here… The French are trying to re-gain a status in this country that they lost when they were defeated by the British. And as much as the English tried to be accommodating and tried to level things out in a harmonious way so that French can feel like “part of” the fabric of this country, the French have simply run with every opening and taken advantage of every opportunity and ounce of kindness by the English as they pushed, and continue to push, WELL BEYOND what can be deemed as FAIR. Even to the casual observer who i often hear wondering aloud, “why do the English in Canada put up with this ca@P from the French minority anyways?
Speaking of minorities… Just look at how the French treat the English language and the Anglophone Canadian citizens in the province of Quebec (there are TONS of EXAMPLES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5EYxb9K6oM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GUkNVjM4Gc).
and on that note, would it be safe to say your solution should be or could be applied there in Quebec too?
A province that was so unfriendly and unfair to the English that the rest of Canada has basically washed their hands clean of, and simply moved away from allowing the French have it as their own little French ONLY sanctuary.
No, this is NOT simply about the grass roots level wonderful idea of human beings gaining a higher level of knowledge while learning two languages and living together harmoniously.
This is a — MAJOR POWER STRUGGLE — and you can bet all the money you may have stuffed in your mattress that the French MINORITY are hell bent and determined to win it.
The French powers that be minority are NOT interested in being the ones to have — LEARN ENGLISH — or ACCOMMODATING ANYONE …
Again, just look at the scene in the province of Quebec where the English language is outlawed. A place where the French Canadian citizens that live there not only — DO NOT — learn the MAIN language of the country that they live in (English) but, they are often heard to describe the English language as insulting to them https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBc5gzuHbKI
And please, i have been deeply immersed in this issue for far too many years now for anyone to try and use that old , “well, it’s only a few that think that way” and, “they are just trying to protect their language” arguments. Don’t bother as that just comes off as patronizing.
So yes, on a simplistic level it could be said that the “problem is very simply dealt with and “fixed” if all the English people just simply go ahead and allow themselves to be forced into learning French and learn being bilingual.
But really, the QUESTION STILL is… WHY? Why should the English majority bow to this?
PS: Personally I love learning all kinds of new things, languages included but, I COMPLETELY RESENT being forced to do so… Especially as being part of the majority in my own country. And also especially seeing how the French feel it’s their right to deal with the exact same thing in such an opposite way than what they want and expect from others… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rpJbxjT564