MONTREAL – In a recent radio interview, Jean-François Lisée suggested that the STM should make more of an effort to hire bilingual employees. “STM are you listening?” said Lisée on CJAD’s Tommy Schnurmacher’s show, “simply call the Office Québécoise de la langue française make that case and you will be able to hire bilingual employees.”
That statement isn’t sitting well with the Société St-Jean-Baptiste, who wrote an open letter to Lisée this week, condemning the PQ minister’s push for more English in Montreal’s public transit system. “We have the impression Mr. Lisée is going back on his word” said Beaulieu, “it’s upsetting because the STM gives a good service to tourists and anglophones”.
Plus, he noted that most complaints over language come from anglophone Montrealers, not out-of-towners.
Marvin Rotrand, the Vice-Chair of the STM insinuated that Lisée didn’t do his homework before making those comments.
“When Mr. Lisée said pick up the phone, I want to be polite but he’s not quite correct,”said Rotrand.
“We do have categories of jobs where a working knowledge of English is required but the law says we’re not even allowed to do that unless we prove to the OQLF there is a necessity.”
Under article 46 of Quebec’s French Language Charter, an employer can’t require employees to know a language other than French.
In order to make an exceptions to the rule, employers must prove that English is essential in a certain job.
According to Rotrand, the STM has tried on many occasion but the move is often contested by the union. “We’ve had complaints against us because we use too much
English but those are in front of the OQLF and we stand by the decisions we’ve made in the past” added the member of Montreal City Council.
Martin Bergeron from the OQLF insists the law is there for a reason, “the objective of the Charter is to make sure that French is the normal and everyday language of work, communication, commerce and business.”
But some Montrealers do see the need to make at least some knowledge of English mandatory.
Especially considering some recent disputes sparked by language. Last October, a young woman was allegedly assaulted by a ticket-taker at the De La Savanne metro station after she refused to speak French.
“Sometimes you’ll say thank you at the end of your bus ride” one transit-user told us, “and I’ve had rude comments like on parle francais ici!” The STM’s customer service committee is looking to clarify its rights and obligations under the law. Committee members are planning to meet with legal experts in the coming days, to see if they have any room to manoeuvre on the language front.
A report will be tabled at the STM’s Board of Directors meeting on February 6th.
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