Speak French!
Now that truly is a bummer. A 78-year-old man, once in Canada's military, long retired and working as a commissionaire for the past 25 years, and in particular at a National Research Council building on Montreal Road, at the ground-floor reception desk, back of the building for the past 11 years. Dan Brown loves his job. He's also working because he needs the salary to support himself.
He was supporting himself and his wife until fairly recently, but she died last May. Since then his job has become even more important to him. It gets him out and among other human beings. He is a well liked person, personable and known to do his work well. But he has a shameful secret, one that he regrets and apologizes for, but nonetheless it minimizes his value as a worker.
Mr. Brown is a unilingual anglophone. He has never mastered French. He cannot respond to questions addressed to him in French other than to apologize. On the other hand, in all his eleven years of working at the back desk of the National Research Council, he has never once been addressed in French. Nor did he ever have to apologize for a lack he barely knew existed.
That all changed when some disgruntled individual complained about Mr. Brown's inability to speak to him in French. Possibly that complaint went directly to the office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. The National Research Council contacted The Canadian Corps of Commissionaires, reminding it of the guidelines of its contract.
The ground floor entrance where Mr. Brown was normally posted is used primarily by NRC employees. On the first floor of the building a bilingual commissionaire is deployed, and that is where most visitors come through the building. Last Monday and Tuesday Mr. Brown was temporarily posted at a neighbouring NRC building.
While there he was asked several times by visitors if he spoke French. "I said: 'I'm terribly sorry, I don't. I wish I could, but I don't.' I didn't show any hostility to anyone", he reported. He needn't have; the very fact that he was there, a unilingual anglophone without the ability to communicate fluently in French damned him and caused hostility toward him.
The following day his immediate supervisor peremptorily removed him from his long-time post. "That's it. You're out of here." He was informed there would be an immediate replacement with a bilingual commissionaire. He would be moved somewhere else. He was understandably upset, and wept as he gathered up his belongings, an activity he was given all of five minutes to accomplish.
NRC employees started a petition to demand that Mr. Brown be reinstated in his position. One hundred workers have thus far signed the petition, out of some 300. Some of whom may be concerned about their own longevity at the NRC, given the spectre of impending cut-backs.
He was supporting himself and his wife until fairly recently, but she died last May. Since then his job has become even more important to him. It gets him out and among other human beings. He is a well liked person, personable and known to do his work well. But he has a shameful secret, one that he regrets and apologizes for, but nonetheless it minimizes his value as a worker.
Mr. Brown is a unilingual anglophone. He has never mastered French. He cannot respond to questions addressed to him in French other than to apologize. On the other hand, in all his eleven years of working at the back desk of the National Research Council, he has never once been addressed in French. Nor did he ever have to apologize for a lack he barely knew existed.
That all changed when some disgruntled individual complained about Mr. Brown's inability to speak to him in French. Possibly that complaint went directly to the office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. The National Research Council contacted The Canadian Corps of Commissionaires, reminding it of the guidelines of its contract.
The ground floor entrance where Mr. Brown was normally posted is used primarily by NRC employees. On the first floor of the building a bilingual commissionaire is deployed, and that is where most visitors come through the building. Last Monday and Tuesday Mr. Brown was temporarily posted at a neighbouring NRC building.
While there he was asked several times by visitors if he spoke French. "I said: 'I'm terribly sorry, I don't. I wish I could, but I don't.' I didn't show any hostility to anyone", he reported. He needn't have; the very fact that he was there, a unilingual anglophone without the ability to communicate fluently in French damned him and caused hostility toward him.
The following day his immediate supervisor peremptorily removed him from his long-time post. "That's it. You're out of here." He was informed there would be an immediate replacement with a bilingual commissionaire. He would be moved somewhere else. He was understandably upset, and wept as he gathered up his belongings, an activity he was given all of five minutes to accomplish.
NRC employees started a petition to demand that Mr. Brown be reinstated in his position. One hundred workers have thus far signed the petition, out of some 300. Some of whom may be concerned about their own longevity at the NRC, given the spectre of impending cut-backs.
Labels: Government of Canada, Human Relations, Human Rights
posted by Pieface | 7:31 PM
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