Cornwall, Ontario: City reviewing language policy

[Harold Schiffman]

City reviewing language policy
Posted By Kevin Lajoie

A special committee is being formed to review the bilingualism policy
at city hall, and one advocate wants the city to open up the process
to members of the francophone community. Mayor Bob Kilger said Friday
a committee of city council members and city staff will be formed to
review the bilingual services policy. The committee will look at ways
of improving the policy and report back to council, the mayor said.
The bilingualism policy has recently come under fire from members of
the francophone community who feel they are not being properly
consulted.

A report on the policy was supposed to go before council on Monday but
it was removed by city administration at the last minute in order to
undertake further study. Members of the francophone community
expressed disappointment in the decision and the lack of input in the
report.  Jean Lecompte, the president of the Society for the Promotion
of Bilingualism, said the special committee should be expanded to
include members of the francophone community. "If you're going to
evaluate the level of bilingualism at the city, I think you should
include the service receivers," he said. "Unless that is done, I don't
think you'll have a very fair report that comes out of this
committee."

Asked whether the committee will seek public input, Kilger said the
group has yet to be formed so he doesn't want to prejudge its mandate.
The committee will eventually make some recommendations, and the
public will be able to react to that, the mayor added.
Overall, Kilger said he's pleased with the level of bilingual services
the city offers, however he acknowledged there's always room for
improvement. "We do very well. We've got a very, very accommodating
service, but that's not to say we must not continue to strengthen and
improve it," the mayor said.  The report that was slated to go to
council on Monday concluded nearly half of all city employees are
bilingual, and practically every city department is equipped with some
level of bilingual staff. According to the report, some 227 city
employees out of a total complement of 460 are bilingual. That figure
accounts for most city departments with the exception of Cornwall
police.

Under the city's bilingual services policy, social services
receptionists, client service representatives at city hall and the
mayor's secretary are the only positions in the city which are
designated as bilingual positions. The social services and social
housing departments are also required to provide other bilingual
services under the French Service Language Act. The city policy also
identifies English as the language of work within the city
administration - a major sore point for Lecompte and other francophone
advocates.
"Is the French language not accepted?" asked Lecompte of the language
of work clause. "It's very dangerous."  The issue of bilingual
services first came to light last year after Coun. Kim Baird indicated
she would like to see the matter reviewed. Council asked city
administration to review the bilingualism policy and suggest what - if
any - changes should be introduced.

Article ID# 992910
http://www.standard-freeholder.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=992910

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