Many New Brunswickers are concerned over expectations from the provinces Official Languages Commissioner this week, on the obligation for services to be provided in both official languages.
In our poll on the 91.9 The Bend website last week, 86 per cent said Katherine D’Entremont’s expectations are unrealistic.
Kimberly Clark from from Metro Moncton says the french/english debate is dividing the province and this is a major concern, “What it is doing to this province and the division. It is really crippling this province and I don’t think the province can afford it. We can’t afford dual systems, dual bussing and dual hospitals.
She feels it’s not necessary for every job to be bilingual, “One example, this is a few years ago, I saw online a job online, and it was scooping ice cream and you had to be bilingual. How silly is this.” If you have some employees who are french and others who are english, they should be able to work together to provide a service.
Clark has two grown children who both went through French immersion, but they chose to leave, “I have a son who is 30, and he lives in Calgary and my daughter who is 28, lives there as well. There is nothing here for them.”
She says one of the problems is no one wants to step up and do something to fix this.
