<div dir="ltr"><br clear="all"><div><h1 class="entry-title" style="margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:50px;line-height:56px;font-family:TitlingGothicFBCond-Standard,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:baseline;letter-spacing:1.5px">Workers scolded for speaking Spanish, Arabic at heart institute</h1><div class="entry-content" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline"><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">"It really shocked us," a worker said. "We feel a lot of pressure and harassment."</p></div><div class="entry-details gmail-byline" style="margin:0px 0px 25px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;zoom:1;height:18px"><div class="gmail-author-wrap" style="margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-weight:bold;font-stretch:normal;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:BentonSans-Medium,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline;text-transform:uppercase"><a href="https://montrealgazette.com/author/aderfel2014" class="gmail-author" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(0,0,0);display:inline-block"><span class="gmail-name" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block">AARON DERFEL, MONTREAL GAZETTE</span></a>   </div><div class="gmail-byline-dates" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Updated: May 6, 2019</div></div><div class="entry-content gmail-p402_premium" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:15px;line-height:inherit;font-family:BentonSans-Regular,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><img class="gmail-wp-post-image" alt="" src="https://postmediamontrealgazette2.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/0506-city-heart-institute-1276.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=840&h=630&crop=1" width="840" height="630" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 100%; height: auto; width: 662.953px; display: block;"><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-weight:bold;font-stretch:normal;font-size:12px;line-height:18px;font-family:BentonSans-Medium,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word;text-align:left"><span class="gmail-img-caption" style="margin:0px;padding:0px 10px 0px 0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">Some employees of the Montreal Heart Institute say they have been told they must speak French all the time while at work, even when discussing personal matters among themselves.   </span><span class="gmail-img-author" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-weight:normal;font-stretch:normal;line-height:14px;font-family:Shift-MediumItalic,Georgia,Times,"Times New Roman",serif;vertical-align:baseline;letter-spacing:2px;color:rgb(140,140,140);text-transform:uppercase"><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">DAVE SIDAWAY</span> / <span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">JPG</span></span></p><div class="gmail-article-actions" style="margin:0px 30px 20px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:14px;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;float:left"><a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/workers-scolded-for-speaking-spanish-arabic-at-heart-institute#" class="gmail-icon-share" style="margin:0px 0px 27px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;line-height:108px;font-family:TitlingGothicFBComp-Regular,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:baseline;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(255,255,255);text-align:center;text-transform:uppercase;background-color:rgb(0,0,0);display:block;width:65px;height:65px;letter-spacing:0.1em;box-sizing:border-box">SHARE</a><a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/workers-scolded-for-speaking-spanish-arabic-at-heart-institute#" class="gmail-icon-adjust" style="margin:0px 0px 27px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;line-height:108px;font-family:TitlingGothicFBComp-Regular,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:baseline;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(255,255,255);text-align:center;text-transform:uppercase;background-color:rgb(0,0,0);display:block;width:65px;height:65px;letter-spacing:0.1em;box-sizing:border-box">ADJUST</a><a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/workers-scolded-for-speaking-spanish-arabic-at-heart-institute#" class="gmail-icon-comment" style="margin:0px 0px 27px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;line-height:108px;font-family:TitlingGothicFBComp-Regular,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:baseline;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(255,255,255);text-align:center;text-transform:uppercase;background-color:rgb(0,0,0);display:block;width:65px;height:65px;letter-spacing:0.1em;box-sizing:border-box">COMMENT</a><a class="gmail-icon-print" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;line-height:108px;font-family:TitlingGothicFBComp-Regular,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(255,255,255);text-align:center;text-transform:uppercase;background-color:rgb(0,0,0);display:block;width:65px;height:65px;letter-spacing:0.1em;box-sizing:border-box">PRINT</a></div><div style="margin:0px 40px 35px 95px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline"><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.333em;line-height:1.3;font-family:Shift-Book,Georgia,Times,"Times New Roman",serif;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">Despite touting a <a href="https://www.icm-mhi.org/fr/propos/politiques/politique-relative-diversite-culturelle" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(0,0,0)">“cultural diversity” policy</a> for employees and patients, managers at the Institut de cardiologie de Montréal have reprimanded a group of workers for speaking to each other occasionally in an Arabic dialect and in Spanish — even when they’re on break.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">The workers, some of whom were born in Algeria, have been told that they must speak French all the time while at work, even when discussing personal matters among themselves. One worker told the Montreal Gazette that he was scolded for responding in English to an anglophone patient at the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/montreal-heart-institute-launches-drug-study-with-1-million-donation" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(0,0,0)">east-end hospital</a>.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">The de-facto all-French policy has been in force for the past two years despite the fact Quebec’s Language Charter does not prohibit workers from holding a private conversation in a mother tongue other than French. What’s more, the provincial health act ensures “<span class="gmail-texte-courant" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">English-speaking persons are entitled to receive health services and social services in the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/english-less-and-less-visible-at-st-marys-hospital-patients-say" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(0,0,0)">English language</a>.”</span></p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">“It’s discrimination,” said a worker who was reprimanded for chatting with colleagues in Spanish and for addressing the anglophone patient in English.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">The employee said he communicates in French with co-workers, managers and patients. But he switches to Spanish during private conversations with Hispanic colleagues at the hospital. He agreed to be interviewed on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.</p><div class="gmail-fsk-ad" id="gmail-fsk-ad" style="margin:1.875rem auto;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;text-align:center;clear:both;overflow:hidden"><div class="gmail-fsk-ad-wrapper" style="margin:0px;padding:0.625rem 0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;width:527.953px"><p class="gmail-fsk-ad-message" style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px 10px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:0.6875rem;line-height:0.75rem;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;vertical-align:baseline;letter-spacing:0.0625rem;text-transform:uppercase;color:rgb(89,89,89);zoom:1;display:inline;word-break:break-word">STORY CONTINUES BELOW</p><div id="gmail-fsk-ad-splitbox" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;background-color:rgb(242,242,242)"><div class="gmail-fsk-ad-empty" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:17px;line-height:inherit;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;vertical-align:baseline;width:527.953px"><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;font-family:BentonSans-Regular,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">This advertisement has not loaded yet,</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;font-family:BentonSans-Regular,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">but your article continues below.</p></div><div id="gmail-fsk_splitbox_1717_onscreen" class="gmail-fsk_splitbox_1717_onscreen" style="margin:0px auto;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;overflow:hidden;min-height:297px"><div id="gmail-fsk_splitbox_1717" class="gmail-fsk_splitbox_1717" style="margin:0px auto;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;max-width:620px;clear:both;height:0px;width:527px"></div></div></div></div></div><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">The workers urged the hospital administration last year to provide them with a legal opinion, as a manager had promised, that justifies the all-French policy. When no opinion was forthcoming, they sent a letter last December to the chairperson of the board, Pierre Anctil, requesting he raise the matter at the next board meeting.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">When Antcil did not reply to their letter or broach the issue at a board meeting, the workers contacted <span class="gmail-st" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">Fo Niemi, executive director of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR). Neimi, in turn, sent a letter to Antcil on March 28.</span></p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">“We have come to the conclusion that the language directive in question, as well as the sanctions imposed on certain employees, seriously undermine the constitutional rights of these employees guaranteed under the various provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” Niemi wrote.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">In an interview, Niemi said the workers are fearful and “they feel very much under scrutiny. They’re intimidated.”</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">A technician of Algerian descent told the Montreal Gazette his previous department head didn’t mind when he spoke in an Arabic dialect with his three other colleagues. But the current department supervisor has adopted a zero-tolerance policy.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">“It really shocked us,” he said. “We feel a lot of pressure and harassment.”</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">Julie Letourneau, a spokesperson for the Office Québécois de la langue français (OQLF), noted an institution has the right to “establish a linguistic policy that can stipulate the moments when the use of French is mandatory, but it has to be related to work.”</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">Asked whether the language charter explicitly requires conversations between employees must always be in French, she responded: “Absolutely not.”</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">“The fact that (someone) speaks a language other than French at work is not necessarily a violation,” Letourneau explained. “It’s really the employer that has the responsibility to establish the distinction between private conversations — because the charter does not apply to private conversations — and communications that are truly related to work.”</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">Marie-Claude Pageau, a spokesperson for the heart institute, said the board will likely raise the matter at its next meeting on May 13.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">“We received a letter from CRARR that was addressed to our board chairman. We’re in the process of reflecting on this question.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">“We’re going to truly analyze what should become the (linguistic) policy,” Pageau added. “It’s a delicate issue. We will respect the rights and freedoms of our users, and everyone who works at the Institute, no matter the title.”</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">Two years ago, CRARR took up the case of a <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/former-manager-at-laval-housing-authority-files-discrimination-complaint" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(0,0,0)">former manager at l’Office municipal d’habitation de Laval</a> who quit after managers warned employees not to converse in Spanish during office hours, except during lunch.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">At the time, Letourneau of the OQLF offered a slightly different comment on the use of languages other than French in the workplace.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:1.6;vertical-align:baseline;word-break:break-word">“If (employees) decide to speak (to each other) in another language other than French, there’s no problem — even if it concerns work,” Letourneau said.</p></div></div></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies                     <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone:  (215) 898-7475<br>Fax:  (215) 573-2138                                      <br><br>Email:  <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a>    <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div>