I’m
university educated, with two degrees – one in Business Administration with a
major in marketing and a minor in advertising.
I have almost two decades of diversified management experience under my
belt with letters of recommendation from several prominent industry leaders. My
wife is a Human Resources professional with a university degree, a fistful of
diverse certifications, and over two decades of experience in the workforce in
areas ranging from mediation and arbitration to recruitment and labor force
relations.
We have lived in Moncton for over ten years now and have contributed to the
economy of the city and the province through our tax dollars. We have also
contributed to the community through volunteer and charity work, and would like
to think we’ve established a reputation as good citizens, neighbors, and solid people
overall who do our fair share to ensure the ongoing success and prosperity of
the place where we live.
So, why is it that we have started planning for an exit strategy from the city
and province we have grown to call our own in the event that one of us loses
our job? It’s quite simple; we’re
skeptical that we would be able to find comparable work in the area anymore
because of one simple fact; neither of us is fluent in French.
Now settle down. This isn’t an attempt to rabble rouse or generate ill will.
This is someone who made a conscious choice to move here trying to explain to
you why I am having a hard time envisioning a future in this place I call my
home.
Let me make it clear – I am all for bilingualism. I am all for a culture where
people, regardless of the language they speak, should able to receive a service
with dignity and in their preferred language – especially crucial services like
health care and government offerings. I
support all establishments having some staff that can speak both languages in
an effort to make sure everyone gets a fair shake. Heck, I’m envious of my
friends who can seamlessly flip from one language to another while I can only
stand back and catch every third or fourth word with my limited French
knowledge garnered through French telecasts of Montreal Expos games and 11th
grade instruction of the language.
What I don’t support, however, is being made to feel like that I’m not welcome
if I don’t parlez en Francais. I was
recently asked if I speak French by a prospective client at work. When I politely answered that I did not and promptly
handed them over to one of my bilingual staff members, they proceeded to carry
on the entire conversation in perfect English. As they left my store, they
remarked that I shouldn’t hold a position of management if I can’t speak
French. I wish that I could say that
this was an isolated incident, but it isn’t.
Can you see how a fellow might feel unwelcome?
I would love to be able to speak a second language. With my nearly 40 year old
brain, though, and ever-increasing demands on my time from work and family I
wouldn’t say it’s an impossible feat – but it’s pretty darned close. I barely
sleep four hours a night as it is – I simply have no more time. In a pinch, I
can break out my high school ‘caveman French’ as I like to call it - “Je
m’appelle Steve et je suis un garcon” – but I assure you, nobody really wants
that. I also know all the lyrics to Mitsou’s 1980’s hit ‘Bye Bye, Mon Cowboy’,
but that’s not going to help much either.
I’m just a guy who is trying to earn a living in this beautiful province, and
it seems like there’s a bunch of politics and ugly feelings between the
Anglophone and Francophone populations threatening to get in the way of that. I
wrote about this same subject a couple of years back, but I was a little more
diplomatic. Now I’m coming flat out and saying that I feel like there’s a
segment of the population that really doesn’t want me or my family– or people
like us – around.
It feels terrible.
I would love nothing more than to work and live here until my nine to five days
are done. I would love to retire to a
cottage close to the amazing Bouctouche Dunes when my wife and I are old and
grey and eat nothing but Acadien chicken fricot for the rest of my life (that
stuff is delicious). The fact is,
though, that I won’t stay where there may be no opportunity to provide a good
life for my family because of something as superficial as the language I speak.
I have well-educated and experienced
Anglophone friends here who can’t find a job making more than minimum wage
because they don’t speak two languages.
I won’t allow myself to be put in that position.
French, English, I don’t care what you are. I just want to share this awesome
place with you all. It’s been really hard lately, though, and I have some tough
decisions to make for myself and the people I care about.
J’adore Nouveau-Brunswick, mais j’adore ma famille en plus.
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