CFN – Heather Villeneuve is the face of the language wars leaking out of Quebec right across Canada. She’s the victim of a system of hypocrisy.
The Cornwall girl, born and bred has spent over $30,000 on her education graduating as a Medical Lab Assistant in 2011. While the two other Cornwallites got jobs instantly Heather has yet to find employment. Her crime and fault? She’s not bilingual.
Bilingual advocates like Jean Lecompte will tell you the importance of bilingualism; but essentially that’s a political correct way of saying French. The levels of testing for French proficiency are secretive and frankly most native Francophones could not pass these tests. And there are no equivalent English language tests for most employment in particular with government agencies.
Official bilingualism in Canada has been a failure. In the forty years or so of its existence less Canadians speak French than before. Frankly this isn’t an issue any longer about protecting the French language and culture. It’s about an industry that’s evolved to spread Bilingualism that has led to situations where advancement and the ability to gain employment if one isn’t French or able to pass these tests is the life and death knell for communities across Canada.
When you can’t go over the rank of Major in the Canadian Armed Forces without being bilingual that’s scary. When nurses get suspended or fired for speaking out costing hospitals thousands of dollars while appealing to the public for funds that’s an issue.
And when someone who doesn’t want to leave her home after investing in her education locally has to move to find work that’s an issue.
Being bilingual is a wonderful asset; but should it be the deciding factor in someone gaining employment to the degree that it has across our great country?
It’s more about the definition of Official Bilingualism and what society finds acceptable or not and that’s a whole other issue as most of these issues are dealt with behind closed doors. The new buzz is that government employees are now going to have to be bilingual as there is a push for the them to have the choice of what language to speak with to each other. That it’s not about serving the public anymore.
You can get a few hard core political types at a remote government office in the West and bam. The entire team will have to be able to communicate at high levels of French.
While this debate is a much broader subject here in Canada and Ontario Heather Villeneuve is dealing with its injustice in her life. She’s working a minimum wage job trying to pay back her student loans. She’s not even sure she could afford to move when a job opens up hundreds if not thousands of kilometers away from her home.
And sadly she felt that she had to try and turn to a local politician for help and not even in her own town where the Mayor and City Council have ducked the subject entirely.
She wrote a letter to the media and to South Stormont Mayor Bryan McGillis:
My name is Heather Villeneuve, I am a certified Medical Laboratory Technician and I pump gas part-time at minimum wage for a living. Why am I not using my diploma and working in my field? It’s not by choice; it’s because of the discrimination happening in Cornwall and the surrounding area. I am very skilled in my field, but I am not being given the chance to prove what I am capable of, due to one simple factor: I don’t speak French.
For years, I have been discriminated about my appearance; I don’t look the way society generally dictates as “normal”. But it upsets me that I am now being discriminated against, because of a skill that I lack and don’t necessarily need. I was not raised French, and I honestly do not believe that it is a skill I need to possess to do my job properly. I have applied time and time again to hospitals and clinics in the area, for the end result of them all telling me that I am not what they are looking for, because of one small aspect. As someone who has lived in Cornwall my whole life, I have never come across a person that can’t at least speak enough broken-English to get the point across. And as a MLA, patient contact is so minimal that extensive conversations are not needed to be carried out.
I have tried to stand my ground on countless occasions and explain that I can still complete every task assigned to me with the upmost attention to detail, but unfortunately it all comes down to a specific way of thinking, a bilingual way of looking at things. A Census from Statistics Canada shows us that only 3/10 individuals in our province have French listed as their primary language spoken. This proves that more than three quarters of Ontario’s residents are English speaking. ONLY 14% of the French population in Ontario lives in our South/East region.
.
So here I am, stuck in Cornwall, with a college education and nowhere to go. I can’t afford to move with my large sum of student loans, and it will be a very long time until they are paid off from pumping gas at minimum wage. So here’s my question, when is this discrimination going to stop, so the residents of Cornwall will have a chance to better our small community?.
I would like to take this time to thank the South Stormont Council, and Bryan McGillis for advocating for people like me trying to make a difference in the health care system. I appreciate all of their support and efforts in helping me in this process.
We had a chance to catch up with Heather and Mayor McGillis at the Township offices.
Mayor Bryan McGillis:
Mayor McGillis and I spoke about the challenge of retaining young people in Eastern Ontario and the ability to gain employment after finishing education was a hot point.
Were the Heather Villeneuve’s of Ontario told that they’d need such a level of French to attain employment? Did St. Lawrence College inform her before taking her $30,000 locally that she’d need that level of French to attain employment?
Are we ready in Ontario to demand that our schools turn out students with those language schools so that they can fill jobs at home? Does it make sense to try and import people from Quebec purely for linguistic reasons? And are there even people from Quebec ready to fill those positions?
It’s time to look at these issues and talk about them clearly instead of some labeling those that do talk about them as bigots or racists.
Canadians that earn their educations should have the right to work where work is available; French, English, or any language.
You can post your comments below.
Why wasn’t she hired? Like I said before, language is not the only issue..the picture says it all. Enough said.
I agree with this young lady. I do not understand the reasoning behind people “needing “to speak French in Ontario or any other province to get into the workforce. The colleges and universities are more than happy to take the money from these young people and give them false hope as far as employment is concerned. I have been working with the publice for over 25 years and I do not speak French.In all these years I can count on one hand where someone has been upset that I could not comunicate in French and they expressed their feelings in English.
My own daughter was discriminated in Cornwall about getting work and she is fully bilingual. Now all of you can feel how she felt. This girl is in the right field but has to move for sure like the west coast. This line of work is in demand besides nursing, etc. anything in the health field. When you have to move you have to do just that. We left Cornwall and it is a big thanks to living in Ottawa that she was able to work and she is educated. We will never go back to Cornwall ever again. We sure do know what discrimination is and it was hell what we went through in more ways than one.
How very sad, what are we becoming?
To get a high school diploma in Ontario, you need to pass one french course, pass 10 French courses out of 30 and get a French designation on that diploma.
Go to University of Ottawa for a degree and people who study in French get special treatment. By taking one third of your courses in French, you can get a 1,000 dollar per year scholarship over 4 years. Don’t worry about your grades being high enough, up to 8 courses can be marked as a pass or fail so your average is not affected.
Millions of dollars going to Francophone special interests and groups, hiring rates for French is very skewed, and now more young people are affected.
Cornwall in this new census has 510 French only speakers, could we not just have a couple of jobs that don’t “require” bilingual?
Can you say, enough!
Now Stella darling that tells me you didn’t listen to her interview where she clearly states that she takes her studs out for interviews and that she was told verbally that she didn’t check off or write that she was bilingual.
YET ANOTHER superiorly talented medical personnel who is being forced out of her field to make room for a less-qualified francophone! Nice to know that the discrimination against anglophones is NOT confined to Kaybec! Way to go, racist francophones!
What an excellent yet heartbreaking interview! Heather is but one of hundreds and hundreds of people currently experiencing the same treatment here in Cornwall….DISCRIMINATION!!!! New stats show less than 500 people in Cornwall speak French only. What is going on here?!?! The scales are leaning way too far to one side indeed! Time to speak up people. Thank goodness for people like Heather, Darlene Walsh(nurse) and the LFA group of nurses that are standing up for fairness. Thank you so much Bryan McGillis for continuing to stand behind the people!!!!
@ Stella
Your comment about Heather says it all about the kind of person you are. Shame on you.
To follow up on Bryan McGillis’ words from Perriard on how CCH supports the community. I have heard her say that too. Know what? That is a bunch of hogwash!
CCH
1. Doesn’t hire locally unless you speak advanced French
2. Doesn’t support their English speaking staff for chances for
advancement.
3. Doesn’t even hire contractors to do their construction work.
How are they community oriented? Someone please tell me?????
I wonder if most of you know that all these workers from Quebec that come in to work in Cornwall don’t pay taxes here? Now you do. All the west Quebec users of CCH get healthcare here and we foot the bill for the rest.
The movement for fairness is growing. We will not stop until the pendulum swings back and there is representation by population only.
Heather I work in healthcare and I would hire you in a heartbeat if I could! Someone with the guts to come forward is already one up in my books. Thanks for sharing your story!
re stella, racist francophones who want French-first French-only will look for any excuse other than their own racism/anglophobia, Jamie. Stella (whose smirk I would like to wipe off her face) is ignorant, arrogant and smug, knowing that she is being given preferential treatment she does not merit. ONLY by stepping on others can she and her like raise herself up to be able to lord over others.
I am hoping that the Heather Villeneuves do find employment in their field with a hospital or lab that hires based on merit. I would actually avoid going to a Cornwall hospital because I would feel that the technicians are less-qualified because they speak French.
My heart breaks for Heather, and bless you Mayor McGillis for actually standing up for what’s right!
Heather,
You’re obviously a well-rounded, qualified gorgeous young woman who’s been had. Check me out on Face. as I would like to contact you. I have a few questions.
Kindest Regards,
Cory
Oooops, correction to #3 above. CCH doesn’t hire LOCAL contractors to do their renovations.
@ stella, would the picture “say it all” if she had a physical disability; a skin colour or religion that people feel unfamiliar or uncomfortable with? Back in the day, (1970) I recall my sister being sent home from school simply because she dared to wear a pant suit. Times change, styles change, prejudices don’t. I know people at the CCH who have piercings, tattoos, cosmetic boobs, tummy tucks etc. They’re not discriminated against (for their choices) so long as they speak French
I hate to say it but French is not the only issue with employment in Cornwall or eastern Ontario for that matter.
Education and experience also seems to frighten many local businesses, not to mention civil servants working in various fields of engineering, money and project management.
I have just learned once again that I am over qualified for a position in the Cornwall area. I am not really sure how that works or the mind of the individuals. I mean how is somebody over qualified?
I have met many people over my tenure in the field of engineering and a great lot of them are from Eastern Ontario. All say the same; eastern Ontario is merely cheap place to live and decent amenities are only an hour drive. The drawback, if you are able to excel, you need to leave.
Our children have been urging since their enrollments in university, “Mom, dad you need to get out of this dump, it has nothing to offer”
4 more years and we own our home, 15 years building and renovating. Now the discussion to sell is discussed. It has nothing to do with language but a lot to do with no leadership. Let’s leave the economy out of this as it is merely a hoax to create sentiment in the markets. If the economy is bad, why do we have 4 logistics centers in Cornwall and why the 401 always full of trucks? Somebody must be building stuff and somebody has to be buying it
Maybe the powers that be use the French language laws to employ persons they alone see fit!? Could it be considered a new discriminatory measure? Would they not hire me because I am a woman, because I am a non-Caucasian? Because I have a disability….Either of the above has an impact on an individual’s ability to do the job, why is that language such an issue.
Sorry it’s a bit off topic and probably more of a vent of my own frustration!
I understand Heather’s plight and can only suggest you explain to them on your way to better horizons,
They only have one true advantage over you, they can kiss your @$$ and you can’t.
I know the people looking to start questioning the government locally have a few individuals that travel for extensively for work. It is my understanding they will use an approach of nonpayment of taxes as the government doesn’t support them.
It does make sense! If they do not use the local service to the extent they are taxed, why pay for it?
We have to put a stop to our talented children having to leave Cornwall to find employment because of bigots & racists.
Stella ..You have reach a new low,this girl is beautiful with or without her bling,stop being a bully!!!
We ALL now know (as if we didn’t before) how small minded and petty mme nobright (yes YOU Stella) is. She henceforth deserves to be completely ignored. BEST medicine for her type.
Just the mere suggestion that she should consider (anyone should consider) learning french in order to “make this all right”
is an COMPLETE insult when one considers all the FACTS in this situation. GRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
There is more to all of this stuff than what is being told to us about the Cornwall Community Hospital. I do know that everywhere in Eastern Ontario French is in great demand. I remember when I worked in the government I was thrown into a position in a certain hospital where I had to do medical transcription and I never took that course in my entire life. While I was in that particular hospital there were 4 people who were able to transcribe in both English and French who had their papers. I did very well for someone who never took that course and of course the supervisor reviewed everything.
What I am feeling just now is that things are changing in Cornwall where they want people to know both languages fluently and this may affect other jobs as well which will affect all the young people out there especially those just getting out of high school, college and university. This is something that is really taking effect compared to my day.
I do know for sure that there is a great deal of discrimination in Cornwall and not just over language. We went through so much and my husband, my children and myself talk about this a lot. If you go to the hospitals here in Ottawa we have a great deal of visible minorities and they are all working and they work harder than the Canadians. There is no reason that this young girl cannot go and apply at the Civic Hospital and other hospitals here in Ottawa and elsewhere even though she doesn’t have French maybe it is worth a try for her to apply. Again Cornwall is very racist and always has been. We had a few friends in Cornwall who told us the same thing and they are Canadians – Anglos. I would encourage this girl to go elsewhere since she is having a hard time. This job is in demand and she can get hired easily elsewhere. I would tell this girl don’t be afraid. My husband and I came to Ottawa back in the mid 70’s with hardly anything and looking at my mother cry her eyes out seeing us leave in a small van taking whatever possessions we had and going down Albert Street the wrong way and the bus driver waving his hands at us that we were going in the wrong direction. We lived in a dump downtown in order to start living among Asians. We never gave up and we worked very hard at all kinds of jobs. I applied in the government, took the exams at the Civic Center back then and came in top 10 and then I received a call at 6 p.m. after working in a horrible place and the lady on the other end told me where to report and I got myself in to a permanent job. For years friends of mine in Cornwall told me to leave back then and they already left. Things were not the greatest then even though I had jobs that didn’t last long since so much folded. You have to have courage and leave and don’t look back because it is way too painful when you think about it.
Stella, one day, that roof of your’s is going to cave in on your head and you will not know why.
That child in Quebec that was refused aid from a ambulance attendant because she could not speak french and the father spoke for her ( she was in a coma) , in english, the problem was the father spoke english in his haste for aid and then spoke his own language in french and still was refused. I wonder what would have happened if that child died.
It’s people like you, stella,who make life miserable, because you like being miserable and everyone else must be miserable, too, then your happy.
Have a nice day.
Jobs are hard to find. If you apply for a job where you don’t fit all the qualifications, and you aren’t hired… why is that a problem. I’m with stella on this, just like with cory, language is not the issue or the reason why they are not hired in their field.
Or rather, its not that its a problem, why is that an issue ? you applied for a job where you don’t have all the qualifications…man, does cornwall free news write about other subjects then language. COME ON.
Heather you are a beautiful young lady that deserves to be able to work in the city where you were born, raised and went to school. I commend you for having the guts to stand up against the discrimination that is going on in Cornwall. Keep up the fight. I hope that one of the employers in this town will see through the French issue and hire one of it’s own. Best wishes to you.
The standards many have to meet the bilingualism requirements of a job are often too high.
This language issue has gone out of control. It sounds like a complete French means of taking all the top jobs and jobs period. We are definately the only country in the world that has 2 Official Languages at a cost of over $18 billion a year to make 15% of the French popualtion mainly in Quebec to FEEL AT HOME across the land.
This is not the Canada our fore-fathers meant it to be -it has turned out to be a French dictatorship through a dying #13 ranked language in the world. Poor Heather, she is being punished for only knowing the world’s number one language. what punishment for being an English speaking educated Canadian.
Dot Fuhrman
Pretty much any good job in Cornwall requires advanced bilingual to “justify” service for less than 600 people. Holy bankrupt if every town had to cater to people with this type of mentality!
@ tremblay
Even intelligent Anglo that holds a degree or diploma and takes the time to speak up is obviously a loser right Tremblay?!? Man I suggest you take your stupid comments elsewhere.
Keep Cory out of this. He is a highly intelligent and articulate friend of mine with a university education. He cares about fairness and the people. Which is more that I can say about you!
This young girl has guts,here,s hoping other young people will have the courage to follow in her footsteps & speak out.
I admire her courage to speak out.
I don’t think any language Richard should dictate if the person gets hired…it clearly has in Heather’s case though!
Heather,
First of all I would like to say how proud I am of you for standing up for your rights. Education & experience should always trump language, to do otherwise is discrimination.
My husband & I initially decided to fight this battle for the sake of our kids future. Now, I see just how much bigger this is. This is not just about Chris, me & our kids, but it’s truly about ALL Canadians.
Never be ashamed of your choices & ignore the nay- sayers!
Many support you, please know that!!!
Your a brave, beautiful young women & although this path will be a difficult one, remember you are NOT alone on this journey!!!!
I am REALLY PISSED OFF that our governments have allowed this to happen!!!!!!
…………..and I am by far NOT the only one!!!!!!
This is THE biggest scam, the biggest fraud and lie ever forced upon the Canadian public. People have no idea what this man Trudeau did to this country.
“Quebec can make French the only official language in spite of the Constitution”. Pierre Trudeau, .
“There is no way two ethnic groups in one country can be made equal before the law….and to say it is possible is to sow the seeds of destruction”. Pierre Trudeau,
.” ….Given these facts, should French-speaking people concentrate their efforts on Quebec or take the whole of Canada as their base? In my opinion, they should do both; and for the purpose they could find no better instrument than federalism”, Pierre Trudeau,.
“I cannot swear it but I think we were thinking to ourselves,… we are a small group, Trudeau, Pelletier, Marchand, Lalonde, Chrétien, myself and a few people in the civil service, say 50 all told…we were bringing off a revolution. We held the key posts. We were making the civil service bilingual (French), kicking and screaming all the time”. Jean-Luc Pepin, Minister of Industry, 1970.
50 years of spin, lies…thats what we have got. They are changing the names of towns, streets, counties, bodies of water, riding names…and I’m not taking about kebec any longer. It’s now going on all over the country; it’s a mess in Ottawa where they name things after anti-English language bigots and racists all the time. They are slowly wiping out our English, Scottish, Irish, United empire loyalists history. Just like they’ve been doing in Quebec for the last 5 decades (bills 22, 178, 101…)…This is one of the main reasons we are not teaching any history from 1760 to 1982 in our schools any longer. These racist people control government, the curriculum, our money…we get a daily dose of spin, lies and propaganda.
Wake up… They run everything in Ottawa, they funnel the money where they want, spin, lies, propaganda, revisionist BS … Proof – In that there is constant pressure to rewrite our history – to pacify the cranky Province of Quebec and the “french “outside Quebec – the reason we lost the Red Ensign in the first place – we must do what we can to protect and preserve our history. A history that is under constant attack. Very few Canadians are aware that we now have portraits in our parliament of French Kings – who had nothing to do with the building of Canada- the statue of General James Wolfe no longer overlooks the Plains of Abraham, the only statue in Quebec City is of the losing General, Montcalm. There are statues of three French generals but no statues of the victorious generals at the Valiant’s memorial in Ottawa. That’s right, no General Wolfe, no General Amherst, No Gen. Murray… This historical revisionism is going on right under the noses of the Governments we elect – and they remain silent!
The simple facts are as more francophone’s get hired for all government positions less and less English speakers are working for their own governments across the country. Don’t believe me; Go check the stats for yourself. Francophone’s are over-represented in all levels of government including hospitals, law, policing…etc. No fairness, no representation by population. They call it bilingualism, yet the term is never defined on purpose and believe me it doesn’t mean fluency in 2 languages in Canada, at least to the French it doesn’t. No political party will speak for the English speaking majority in this province and country. Practical bilingualism, where numbers warrant… is never defined on purpose. In Ontario, NB it now means segregation. The French (they are actually metis, a mixed race, not french) are demanding French only facilities all over the province, not bilingual, French only. $ Bilingualism is really nothing more then a hiring quota for francophone’s and that is a fact…just ask yourself, why are francophone’s over-represented in all government jobs and how come more and more positions are being designated bilingual all the time? And just as important, how come they are NOT fluently bilingual? Some can barely speak English!
See whats really going on here?
So while Quebec bans the English language (bill 22, bill 178, bill 101…), wipes out its real BNA, UEL history, while ethnic language cleansing is going on in Quebec, the rest of the country is forced to fund whatever the French (metis) demand. This is going on in every province. Go check.
“First Quebec, then we take over the rest of the country, one step at a time…through bilingualism…” PT, “How to take over a country through bilingualism…” SD. How ? First comes the right to communicate with gov’t in a minority language (ie French),then comes bilingualism, then comes the right to work in the language of choice(ie French), then comes a bilingual boss,(ie French) then comes a exclusively French department and on it goes until its all French. Its happening all over the country, Ontario, New Brunswick…That’s what’s really going on.
Go learn our proud, real BNA and UEL history. These were the builders of our country since 1763. Not this phony, revisionist lie, this bilingual, multicultural, 2 founding nations, linguistic duality lie, propaganda, spin that we’ve been living with since Trudeau, and kebec forced this upon the nation. We’ve been part of the British Empire since 1763 and officially an English speaking country for over 200 years…just a fact.
NO English speaking politician is telling you the truth, is exposing what is really going on.Not one politician, party has the decency, the honesty to expose the truth, to speak the truth,how pathetic. Poor Canada, what a mess. Please spread the word.The truth about Trudeau would be nice for a change. The man was a racist, an anti-English language, anti BNA bigot. Go read his writings; he despised our real BNA, UEL history.
Until the charter and all the bs (bilingual, multicultural, phony rights…crap) connected to it gets repealed, we will continue to self destruct as we have for the last 5 decades.
i don’t know about you folks or your parents but when i was a kid, in GRADE school we were always told that being bilingual would get us better chances at good paying jobs. its just common sense, bunch of whiners, seriously!
The corruption is in the selection of the word “bilinguaslism” within our governments and laws. For a language dictated onto
the country misleafding the rtesiedents as the wortd bilingualsim
means speaking more than one language, while in Canadian
politics it is used to hide the enforcement of the French language
within an English speaking country. With that realizing that the
French languahge is declining all around the world holding presently the 15th place, With English being 3rd. The political
fear of more blackmail that may effect the vote. A vote callled
democratical. English is where the money is in this world.
Denying, in this an English speaking, employment is discrimination.
I am pissed too…..**s**
There are only so many jobs to be had in a city of 46,000 people. Do you expect every graduate to find work in Cornwall? Like I said before…..MANY HAD TO LEAVE TO GET GOOD PAYING JOBS……what don’t you understand?
A job interview is not only based on a diploma. If you don’t know that already…..it’s time you realize it.
Furthermore a diploma doesn’t guarantee that you will get a job in the field you studied. I know some who had to change careers after graduating……it is inevitable sometimes depending on the circumstances.
Sad but true, a diploma is not a guarantee of employment. Yes it is disheartening not to be able to find work…….but there are only so many jobs available, especially in Cornwall.
First of all I would like to commend Heather for speaking up,hold your head HIGH ,if others had done the same she would not be in that situation.
Second-Heather you are far from alone in this,and many friends with similar circumstances.
STELLA-you continue to isolate yourself with your biased statements-please if you can ever be humain pick apart the subject not the person ,this person already feels discriminated against ,but perhaps you would prefer to kick a women when she feels down.
I know that she can change her appearance by removing the bling ,but you cannot change your personality.
You really surprisingly discust me at times with your bias ,and yet you have Richard trembley who supports you.
Wow Richard you must be proud of yourself.
If I refuse to learn the two official languages, which in this country is french and english, I am only hurting myself. No one is forced to learn any language PERIOD…but those bad choices will come back to haunt in the future when looking for work.
In a few years, we will be encouraged to learn an Asian language. If one choose not to learn it and chooses the easier route, then don’t complain when in 10 years, you can’t find work. It’s called being proactive.
Heather be proud of your accomplishment. Passing your course
with marks in the high nineties is outstanding. Congratulations. Why they don’t want the best and the brightest boggles my mind.
edudyorlik I complete agree with your comment. That part of the interview bugged me too. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Does anyone really think taking the time to learn French at this point would make a difference here. Remember people it’s advanced French they are looking for. Also remember that every student is school takes mandatory French classes for nine years, surely they would know enough by then to be able to say in French. “I’m here to take some blood”. Why would you need any more than that.
Stella getting to know you pretty well. Knew you would be the first to post and knew exactly what your comment would be.
Piper….people with common sense, who dislike BS stick together.
Furthermore piper….I told you before, I don’t care what you think of me……ca-vas? When people don’t agree with you, you have nothing good to say about them…the french speaking people know that, many have left because of your name calling.
Piper……ignore what I write, you would be doing us both a favor **s**
See Rosie……..you thought the same thing….great minds think alike.
well what about this…..
Cornwall is One of the Most Bilingual Communities in Canada
By Bob Peters October 24, 2012
Cornwall Ontario – Statistics Canada has released a new table of information from the 2011 Census, and once again it shows that Cornwall offers one of the most bilingual workforces in Canada when it comes to knowledge of English and French.
According to the 2011 Census, 43% of Cornwallites have knowledge of both English and French. In comparison, only 17% of Canadians can claim the same, and only 11% of Ontario residents have knowledge of both Official Languages.
In Eastern Ontario, Cornwall ranks higher than the Nation’s Capital. 37% of Ottawans have knowledge of English and French.
“Being able to converse in both English and French is a marketable skill that is in demand by many employers,” said Mayor Bob Kilger. “This feature of our workforce is a competitive asset that makes Cornwall a good place to do business.”
The 2011 Census also shows that the linguistic skills of Cornwall residents extend beyond English and French. European languages such as Italian, Spanish and Greek are spoken in Cornwall homes, as are South Asian languages such as Tamil, Urdu, Punjabi and Arabic.
The 2011 Census Data is being released by Statistics Canada as it becomes available. In February of this year, Statistics Canada released preliminary Census data that showed Cornwall’s population grew by approximately 1% from 2006 to 2011. The population of Cornwall is estimated at 46,340 with 111,164 in the immediate area of Cornwall and the United Counties of Stormont Dundas and Glengarry.
Over 42 years of French immersion in our schools at a cost of over a trillion dollars, for what time you get through colllege or university you have the merit an ability but when you are doing a exam an they are testing you on proficent French the English speaking people get the boot instead they will hire someone from Quebec or a Francophone who passes the French test –merit an ability is thrown out the window,Yet when the Francophone has to do the English exam they still get a pass even if they barely speak English,
The reason Francophones like bilingualism is they get the jobs because they are proficent in French an stumble through with broken English–There are a couple of radical Francophone groups who think they can throw there weight around –people are fed up with there radical views
Admin, in regards to your suggestion of French schools for the English,
Forcing the majority to speak the language of the minority in order to obtain gainful employment is GENOCIDE against the unilingual English majority in Canada. This is exactly what Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau had in mind when he declared war on English Canada (via the official languages act) in 1968. Mr. Trudeau was definitely a Federalist… a Federalist for the French culture.
What is truly ironic is that the English are flipping the bill for their demise.
Great coverage on this story though, you are a newspaper, website and a TV station!!!
Sometimes we have to leave our love ones in order to sucessed. I am french ontarien that was raised in Cornwall and I was forced to learn english in order to communicate in my community. I learned english so I can have a part-time job while I was in High school. In order so I could continue my education in french I had to move to Ottawa so I could study in a french college. I also have a student loan which I will start paying after I graduate in April. All my life in Cornwall I was disscriminated for having an accent while I spoke english which is really sad. If i’m obligated to learn english at such a young age in school, why shouldn’t english children learn french at a young age in school too?
I also have to live injustice of being a french ontarien and not being able to study in my hometown in french. I’m proud that I atleast get the chance to continue my education in French because the generation before mine had to fight for our French education. Even tho I study in a french college, we are obligated to have a certain level in English and if we don’t obtain that level we have an English classes.
I don’t plan on coming back to live in Cornwall. It will certainly be harder to find a job in Tourism in a small city like Cornwall. One thing I won’t forget is how some of the community miss treated me for my french accent, specialy from some of my supervisors while I worked. Which is one of the reasons I am more focussed on succeeding elsewhere and making my life in another community. I still have all my family that I left behind in Cornwall and some of my friends that I visit when i’m in town.
This is my point of vu from a french ontarien’s perspective, like I said we are more forced to move out of the community so we can continue studying in French. It always frustrates me to see how some clients in the Cornwall community not get served in french. I know a lot of older fox such as my grand-mother she dosen’t understand english at all and have a hard time responding back in English. I definitly agree we need bilingual even if your french isn’t perfect atleast you can reply to them with a basic french. Its simply as saying yes or no, ”oui” ”non”, french ontariens are obligated to speak english, I think english should be obligated to speak basic french.
@jules RE: October 25, 2012 at 1:10 pm POST
jules wrote: “When you have to move you have to do just that.”
—That’s what “they” depend on jules, and also how they took over the “province” of Quebec. BTW, it’s starting to get worse in Ottawa now too. May have to move again. Or maybe we should all stand up and push back?
@Eric RE: October 25, 2012 at 1:19 pm POST
Eric wrote, “How very sad, what are we becoming?”
— Yes indeed eric. VERY SAD. I worked at the U of O and I can say, it’s a thinly disguised veil of yet another French bastion in this country. Something else “they took over.” Fu^%K
@Lolochuck RE: October 25, 2012 at 1:55 pm POST
Lolochuck wrote, “What an excellent yet heartbreaking interview!”
— Absolutely Well done Heather. Wooo hooo. You are my poster person for this cause for sure.
Lolochuck wrote, “What is going on here?!?!”
— Friken downright crap Lo. It’s complete insanity. The people of Canada have allowed things to get to this position.” SOMETHING has to change. WE MUST STOP this insanity.
Lolochuck wrote, “@ Stella. Your comment about Heather says it all about the kind of person you are. Shame on you.”
— I second, third and fourth this one Lo. Well said.
I don’t even say representation by population myself. I say, this is an English dominant country and just like if the French were to go to India or Budapest (like they do to the English in the damn province of Quebec BTW) they would have to know ENGLISH. Besides, most of them already know English. They just like the POWER that they feel when someone is FORCED to speak French. DAMN… I am so angry and Piss^&%%$ed at this CR@P right now.
@Lou RE: October 25, 2012 at 1:56 pm POST
Lou wrote, “Stella (whose smirk I would like to wipe off her face) is ignorant, arrogant and smug, knowing that she is being given preferential treatment she does not merit.”
— Oh my, I third fourth fifth and sixth this one Lou. WELL SAID…
As a matter of fact your WHOLE post was excellent Lou. Including this, “My heart breaks for Heather, and bless you Mayor McGillis for actually standing up for what’s right!” — something I echo as well.
AND YOU — Richard tremblay. You can go jump in a cold lake also. And don’t bring your floatie, k …
Heather I have said it and everyone else seems to have said it a dozen times as well but, it needs to be said. Well done. Good for you. You seem like a wonderful person. I wish you all the best. If I had a practice I would hire you in a second. I have a feeling you’ll be fine. Maybe even famous for this cause in Canada due to this. Have a look at my YouTube page.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B615iJzxxlY&list=UUR7OLqPM548oAxD_nMAGl4g&index=5&feature=plcp
I have a feeling there will be some vids there you can relate to. Wouldn’t mind using your interview or parts of it in one of my vids too.
I have to stop as I could go on forever, I feel so damn BLAH.. about what is happening to my country. I CANNOT believe people like Richard and Stella. Those who view this as something other than WHAT IT IS discrimination and a downright f*&&in attack and take over (without weapons) of this country.. Actually they probably do see that and fight tooth and nail to not let anyone noticed or realize in order to keep it that way… SAD. Grrrrrrrr
This is down right wrong ! Doesn’t make sense why everyone need to speak french in English Ontario or any where else in Canada! The francophones are looking for a total French Canada and a suppression of the english language and people. The more I hear about OB, I getting sicker ! This is just not a Cornwall issue but throughout Ottawa as well. Our youths are the ones under the wrath of the FLSA/OB ! Time to abolish OB, removal of G.Fraser and the FLSA !!! Haven’t any one noticed there’s no Anglophone names running for the federal or provincial elections ?? How about using translators for those who want to throw their names in the hat !
Time to throw the bastards who caused this problem, out of office. Start with Ontario because the Feds can only be challenged if we gang bang them with every province in the country excluding Quebec.
We keep telling ourselves this is not about language. Well friends we hve been tolerant and suckered to this mess, acquiesed to the demeaning rejections long enough.
Statistics as you know show 1% or 510 Cornwalites speak French only and only about 110 speak only other languages. Yet out of 45,000 citizens, even of those here who are fluent in both, my guess is extremely few of our own young have been highered within any medical position in any health unit in our own city, or even our own local counties for that matter.
Lets be ready province wide to support English only candidates
or English with some French. Personally I am not in a position to run and don;t have the political moxy needed……who can come forward, or who would you recommend……even as next primier for heaven sakes…….. I for one think Cory Cameron should certainly be on the ticket.
The next election is not that far around the corner. This nonsense is showing it’s ugly head more and more. I am strong on bilingual WHERE NUMBERS WARRENT and translators facilities on site to accommodate those needs for french.
How do we handle Mohawk.
This Bill of Rights is being kicked in the teeth by Quebec. That alone should negate its uselessness…….it sure isn’t working in English rights now is it.
I better leave this for now as my stomach is churning.
Hi Folks,
What a great article Jamie, thanks for bringing about the issue that has plagued our community and many others across the country.
Heather Villeneuve is an amazing person for speaking up, be proud that you are standing up for your principles.
Many should have spoke out before, as this would not have happened.
It is unfortunate that the many others who are negatively affected by the “Language laws”, will not speak up in fear of the retribution of their employers.
In particular, Cornwall Community Hospital, but as well many other government agencies.
In due time the many disadvantaged from these bias language laws will speak up,for we must not be oppressed by either a gun or through verbal slurs such as bigot /racist /french hater for standing up for ones rights.
I stood the line protesting against the hospital -receiving verbal onslaughts and as well as the french teachers association -unsure as to why the Francophone teachers disagreed with myself standing up for my rights!!
I have 2 Quotes that may inspire the people who fear of speaking up; as it did for me.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.”
Marin Luther King
“If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it; he is obligated to do so”
Thomas Jefferson.
Heather Villeneuve, I admire that fact that you spoke up against a law that is clearly unjust. I am hoping you will inspire the many others this law has done an injustice to.
Remember folks when you feel you have no choice:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,committed citizens can change the world;
indeed its the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead
Stella said,
“Furthermore a diploma doesn’t guarantee that you will get a job in the field you studied.”
Well, Stella, why did it guarantee her two other classmates get the job in the field they studied?
Oh yes, yes, the ones who speak French of course!
Tabarnacle de Criss,
Cory
Heather you are very young and I would encourage you to learn French. If you have at least the basics then you would be doing very well indeed. My daughter was working in French until October 18 which ended her contract and now she is doing a temporary contract until November 30 of this year her last with the company after 8 years along with the rest who are in that area. My daughter didn’t want the call centre out there because of the shift work since the buses would not take her out there at different hours and others refused it as well. Now she will have to job hunt.
There is something here for everyone to look at which I found on Sympatico and this is for everyone including young Heather.
The title is called: Canadians Should Be Preparing for the Next Financial Crisis.
I have been saying this till the cows come home that we are in trouble. Read everything that it says. Get out of debt and if you have to cut then do just that. Things are bad and going to get worse. Housing is going down in price and I knew about this for some time now – I should say a long time now. I follow so many things that would depress anybody but at least I am living in the real world which isn’t pretty at all.
Supports Bilingualism:
Please see my latest Letter to the Editor discussing the obtuse notion of hiring based on language policies.
This will explain how crazy this notion of bilingual hiring policies are.
Thanks,
Cory
One thing I din’t say is that there is definitly more then 500 french speaking person in Cornwall, this is definitly a joke. Their must be a quarter of the population of speaks french. I hate people who are racist point!!!! Its really ugly to see what you say about us francophonnes, I was born and raised french here in Cornwall. I was also obligated to learn english and now that I can speak it and write it I’m disscriminated and judged because I have an accent. Nowonder a lot of young adults my age (18-20 years old) leave right after high school to study elsewhere. People here are either too racist for judging people from their skin color or language. Like c’mon what kind of society are we becoming here. I’m definitly glad that i’m just visiting the city to see my family and will definitly not make my life here its sad to say.
supports bilingualism:
According to the 2011 Census, 43% of Cornwallites have knowledge of both English and French.
I can teach my dog a little french I guess we can count him as bilingual-what is termed as knowledge -like the A- in government tests?
-Very ambiguous
“According to the 2011 Census, 43% of Cornwallites have knowledge of both English and French.”
-once again very ambiguous what 2-3 words or the A- french as the government .
In comparison, only 17% of Canadians can claim the same, and only 11% of Ontario residents have knowledge of both Official Languages.
So why do the Federal government hire 65% bilingual for the 1 % french only in Cornwall or National iif its for 17% of which it is grossly over represented.
So is it standard for the government to over represent by near 400% above quota?
Well for french bilingual?
One must wonder who’s not getting hired?
Avast ye scurvy bilge rats!! Each and every of ye flea-bitten sea-dogs that can’t converse in proper Pirateze should be keel-hauled before the next full moon! Arrr….