Bilingual Tensions In Canada

One of the great issues in current time, and some deem a major controversy, is the serious tension between French and English Canadians over the air-ground bilingualism of air traffic controllers. “Whether French was to be used, along with English, in the control towers of Quebec’s airports was the main issue of dispute in the strike of air pilots in the summer of 1976” (Laxer, 1979, p. 31). Timing for the nine-day strike by the air pilots could not have come at a worst time because of the impending Olympic Games. Of great concern was that the distraction would continue for months and put at risk the Games being held later in the year in Montreal, especially since all air traffic was presently at a standstill.

The passionate debate over air traffic control bilingual communications was mainly the result of two-century-old tension between the French and English. The acceptance or rejection of French as one of two official languages in Canada is an issue that has surfaced many times and the air strike once again, brought it into the open.

The entire country joined in on the heated discussions. In general, air safety was the position that the English Canadians expressed in their fight to state “French should not be used in directing air traffic over Quebec” (Laxer, 1979, p. 31). The English Canadians agreed with the English-speaking pilots and controllers that air-ground bilingual communication (English and French) is not as safe as unilingual communication (English only).

The citizens of Quebec felt air safety was not a valid reason against bilingual communication since bilingual air traffic control had no documented problems in airports throughout the world. Quebeckers believed that it was their right as Canadian citizens, and citizens of Quebec, to work in the mother tongue.

The pilots’ association stated that they would not fly until English was the primary language used by air traffic controllers at Dorval and Mirabel, Montreal’s two International Airports. The association agreed that bilingual communications worked in several European countries; however, it was safer to communicate in English. Their position was firm, especially since the majority of English-speaking Canadians supported their stance.

A truce to the strike was negotiated, when a three-member commission was set up to investigate and decide if bilingualism should be present in all Quebec air communications. An agreement was signed with English-speaking pilots and traffic controllers. The Environmental Minister resigned his Cabinet position over the agreement. The former minister was angry because he believed “the problem could have been solved if the opposition had acted responsibly” (Laxer, 1979, p. 33). He further stated that the agreement was filled with mistakes and gaps. After 18 months of testing, the federal transport department determined that a bilingual air traffic control system in Quebec will have no damaging impact on safety.

The Defence Minister resigned from the Cabinet because the language proposals for the Canadian constitution made reference to locking-in French language and cultural guarantees. The minister resigned to oppose the proposals and to speak openly and publicly about the proposal. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau had made no decision to change the constitution.

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT

1. Overview: The Official Languages Act of 1969 was passed almost unanimously by the Canadian federal parliament. The only opposition came from a group of eighteen Conservative Members of Parliament, led by a former prime minister. The Act made English and French the two official languages in Canada and established the right for both English and French-speaking Canadians to be served by the federal government in their own language. Where the number of French-speaking people in a district surpassed a designated minimum, the government would establish bilingual services for Canadians in federal areas such income tax, customs, and the post office. The use of French was expanded in most areas of public communications.

People in many parts of Canada opposed the Act because they erroneously thought it would force French on the English-speaking population at large. The people had not realized that, except for the federal service, the Act encourages unilingualism, so that English or French minorities may converse with the government in the language of their choice. Finally, the Act was to have �limited impact’ on the public in that it did not affect provincial governments, municipal governments or private industry.

The Canadian Heritage Official Languages website referred to the Official Languages Act as being enacted in 1988. It stated the following three major objectives:

1. to ensure respect for English and French as the official languages of Canada, and equal status, rights and privileges for these languages in federal institutions;

2. to support the development of English- and French-language minority communities and to encourage the acceptance and use of both English and French in Canadian society; and

3. to set out the powers and duties of federal institutions in the area of official languages.

2. Effects of French and English: There was a widely shared misunderstanding on what bilingualism means with regard to the Official Languages Act of 1969. The Act does not state that everyone will be required to speak French, any more than everyone will have to speak English. Not everyone will be expected to speak both languages, nor will they ever will. The federal government must be able to speak to Canadians in either French or English. In a statement by Prime Minister Trudeau, he said “Nothing is more important to a person than to understand and be understood. The most common and the most effective tool we can use for this purpose is our language. Any policy which affects such an important aspect of our lives is bound to stir up some controversy” (Laxer, 1979, p. 46).

The Act itself firmly states that the rights and privileges of any language other than English or French, will in no way be diminished, as a result of the Act. A good example is the right of the people who do not understand English or French to be heard in court through an official interpreter will be maintained throughout the country. The recognition of two official languages in no way alters the position of people whose ethnic origin is neither British not French.

MYTHS AND REALITIES

The meaning of the Canadian government’s bilingualism policy, the Official Languages