In Canada as far as I’m concerned, and for that matter, the federal government is concerned, the two official languages are English and French. People that are not bilingual should be served in the language that they understand, but they should not refused employment because of not being bilingual.
And as much as possible, why wouldn't we teach people to be bilingual? Everyone in Canada should be bilingual. If we are teaching things to our children, why wouldn't that be standard? Languages are useful marketable skills, like Math or Science. It's better to teach languages, especially the official ones, than some of the silly classes and subjects children are learning instead of these fundamental skills.
One thing I have to say about the schools that teach French. This is Canada and not France. They try and teach the real Parisian French in many parts of the country. Here we have our own dialect - the same as any other language - which is easier than the real French. More importantly, it's the French that is usable here. So why are we teaching English children Parisian French in school? It makes no sense. Teach them Canadian French.
That’s my rant of the day and if anyone is offended by that little rant, it wasn’t meant to be offensive.
