Ottawa: 20% of city jobs to be designated officially bilingual

[Harold F. Schiffman]

    February 6, 2007
City minds its languages: 3,500 jobs to be deemed bilingual; current
staffers grandfathered
By DEREK PUDDICOMBE

Almost 20% of city jobs will be designated officially bilingual by May and
the cost of translation and training services is set to rise to almost $2
million a year. Manon Henrie-Cadieux, the city's manager of
French-language services, said the designation will affect about 3,500
frontline services, not all of the more than 17,000 city positions.
Employees already in jobs deemed bilingual who don't speak, read or write
French are safe.

"Everyone is grandfathered," she said. "No one will lose their jobs or be
fired." Henrie-Cadieux said employees already in bilingual positions will
be encouraged to seek language training, but it won't be mandatory. The
city will provide training if the employee pursues it. After May, when the
official bilingualism policy is expected to be in place, anyone can apply
for jobs, but unilingual candidates offered a bilingual position will be
expected to learn French. The language policy is based on a 2001 decision
by council to offer city services in both official languages.

Henrie-Cadieux said employees wanting to enrol in the city's language
training course can take as long as they want to learn and will be trained
on city time. The city now spends $1.7 million a year on French-language
services, including translation andabout 900 employees who are learning to
speak French. About $500,000 is subsidized by the federal government until
March 31, when the city will shoulder the entire cost. The city's own
numbers suggest about 30% of employees already work in both official
languages, but statistics are not available on how many of those employees
will fall within the new positions designated as bilingual.

Henrie-Cadieux said the types of jobs to be designated bilingual include
client service centres, recreation, the call centre and public health.
Barrhaven Coun. Jan Harder called the money spent on French "suspect" and
said it needs to be reviewed.

COUNCILLORS SPLIT

"I have not had one complaint in six years from people who are having a
problem," said Harder, who added she has a large bilingual population in
her ward. Rideau-Vanier Coun. Georges Bedard said it's about time the city
adopts an official policy. He said the city has received countless
complaints about the lack of bilingual services offered by the recreation
department, adding many services offered in English haven't been offered
in French. "There is a request for them but the city can't provide them
properly,"  said Bedard.

Orleans Coun. Bob Monette said it's important to provide bilingual
services to Ottawa's francophone community. "We are dealing with the
public on a constant basis. We should be able to help these people without
passing them off. It's a necessity."

http://ottsun.canoe.ca/News/OttawaAndRegion/2007/02/06/3539826-sun.html

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