Canada: Press nine for language furor

[Harold Schiffman]

Press nine for language furor

Graeme Hamilton, National Post  Published: Tuesday, February 12, 2008


Five of nine departments have changed their recorded messages so
English advice comes at the very end.

MONTREAL - The Quebec government has declared war on what
French-language activists have targeted as two of the most dangerous
words in English: "Press nine." The move is a victory for language
hardliners upset that callers to a host of provincial agencies were
being informed early into their calls that they could "press nine" for
service in English. Already, five of the nine departments and agencies
that language-defence groups targeted in a campaign launched last
November have changed their recorded messages so the English advice
comes at the very end, sometimes after close to a minute of French
instructions. At least two others plan to follow suit soon.

And Culture Minister Christine St-Pierre, who is responsible for Bill
101, Quebec's French language charter, has ordered a report to
identify which government departments have failed to move their
English greetings to the end of their messages. "We will remind them
of the correct way to do things," Marie-Helene Paradis, an aide to Ms.
St-Pierre, said yesterday. Brent Tyler, a Montreal lawyer who has
represented scores of anglophone clients in language-rights cases, was
dismayed to learn Jean Charest's Liberal government is taking the
complaints seriously.

He said when the groups Imperatif francais and Mouvement Montreal
francais announced their campaign last fall, his reaction was, "
They're scraping the bottom of the barrel to find things to complain
about." Now he sees the Liberals seeking any opportunity to look tough
on language and lift their support among francophone voters. "If in
fact the Quebec government is changing their policy, that would be
unfortunate. It would be satisfying a very intolerant approach to the
whole issue of language," he said.

The Office quebecois de la langue francaise, Quebec's language
watchdog, published a flyer last summer offering a "proposed" format
for all government telephone messages. It recommended that, in keeping
with the government's "exemplary and driving role in the promotion of
French," the "press nine" option come after the entire French message
. In federal government offices across Canada, it is standard for
callers to be told near the beginning of a recorded greeting which
number to press for service in French. In Quebec, however, French is
the only official language at the provincial level.

The law guarantees the English-speaking community services in English
in the justice, health and education fields.The issue of recorded
phone messages emerged when activists encouraged people to swamp
government switchboards with complaints.
Stephanie Tremblay, a spokeswoman for the Education Department, said
the department's phone system was changed in January to bring it in
line with the recommendations of the Office quebecois de la langue
francaise. "It's not a lack of respect ," she said. "It's rather a
concern that we conform with measures ensuring the quality of the
French language."

A spokesman for the provincial consumer protection office said its
phone message was also changed to put English at the end, in response
to complaints from the public. Now the office has received complaints
from disgruntled anglophone clients . The provincial transport
department had unveiled a voice-recognition system last February, in
which the "press nine" option followed an initial greeting in French.
When the controversy erupted in November, the department struck a
committee to investigate and now it plans to revamp its system --
which provides tips on road closures, construction sites and hazardous
driving conditions -- so English will come last.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=302022

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