Monday, February 09, 2015

Au revoir, Moncton?

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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