Official Languages and Visible Minorities in the Public Service of Canada : A Qualitative Investigation of Barriers to Career Advancement

4.2 General Perceptions of Official Languages Policies

If we consider our findings about perceptions of the official languages policies (as distinct from the other questions at hand here), the following emerge:

A Varied and Imperfect Understanding of the Official Languages Policies: Although most public servants we spoke with have a general understanding of the official languages policies, many have failed to grasp their subtleties, and this imperfect understanding apparently is the source of much negative feeling. The most common manifestation of this imperfect understanding is the tendency to exaggerate the demands of the policies. Several specific areas of the policies are commonly exaggerated, or the source of apparent confusion: Participants tend to overstate the demands of the policies, and many continue to believe, for example, that the policies stipulate access to services in both languages in all areas of the country ¹. Similarly, many participants suggest that the ability to speak French is being demanded for public service jobs in more areas (geographic and work-related) than it actually is. This tendency tends to increase as we move further from bilingual areas of the country, although was encountered in Ottawa groups as well.

The "Service Ethic": Generally, where we encountered dissent about the official languages policies, it tended to centre on the perceived demands of language of work, and was almost non-existent when considered in the context of service to the public. This perception underscores what is apparently a strong service ethic among many participants, a notion that seems to rally even the more recalcitrant unilingual participants to the policies. In addition, this perception, and this ethic seem to be consistent among all of the different public servants we spoke to, regardless of location, visible minority status, official language spoken, etc.

Controversy Surrounding Language of Work: Conversely to the widespread endorsement of the principles surrounding service to the public, the official languages policies' impact on language of work was much more contested and controversial. Generally, few participants make the link between public servants' rights to work and be supervised in the official language of their choice (which most know of and endorse), and how the policies makes positions of authority necessarily bilingual.

Impact on Staffing: The issue of staffing came up repeatedly: Participants continue to complain that the official languages requirements slow down the staffing process, and to suggest that manipulation of language requirements of positions to accommodate favoured individuals for certain positions continues to happen. Moreover, this complaint seems to be consistently voiced by all participants we spoke with.

We see evidence of a proportional relationship between buy-in to the official languages policies and the availability of training. This is manifest in the oft-expressed view that asking public servants to become bilingual requires a commitment of resources commensurate to the task. This commitment matches dollars with ideals, and reinforces the idea that the government is committed to making the policies a reality. Conversely, the failure to match resources to this requirement provokes criticism and considerable frustration. In a similar vein, we noted that frustration with the demands and limitations implied in the policies tends to be less pronounced among those who have had access to training, and even more among those who had been trained to some extent.

Greater Acceptance among Younger Public Servants: Finally, we noted that younger public servants we talked to were among the most likely of all participants to endorse the overall aims of the official languages policies, regardless of their language proficiency. We found a greater degree and more widespread acceptance of the aims, and the means surrounding the policies among these younger participants. Their tendency is to construe bilingualism as a normal and obvious requirement for finding work in the public service.