See this poll on: https://poll.fm/8242762/embed
Give others the chance to vote.
Share this poll, because the more votes the better.
Create your own.
Opinions! We all have them. Find out what people really think with polls and surveys from Crowdsignal.
Only people against this are people too lazy and stupid to learn a second language.
It seems we put the cart before the horse. Before discussing whether we support 'official bilingualism', we should first define our terms.
I support official bilingualism for the City of Ottawa, but not in the form some might think. I support one official oral language and one official sign-language. That would most likely mean English and American Sign Language.
I would even be open to an IAL as a third official language to help those with other learning disabilities. The difference comes down to a matter of principles. If the priority is to promote the pre-reconciliation-era ideological notion of 'two founding races', then we naturally support Anglo-French bilingualism. If the priority is the right to communicate, then we would focus on a sign-language first, and maybe an IAL after that.
If the concern is also about the right to language, then we might also want to recognize some kind of official status for the local indigenous language of Algonquin so as to gives its speakers a chance to work and live in that language too.
I have to say that some of these posts are quite racist. I'm guessing you didn't get the job. Maybe it has nothing to do with a second language and more to do with your attitude ;) Suck it up and learn a second language. Stop being so jealous and hateful! Some of you sound very uneducated making some of the comments I’ve read. The French culture which was a huge majority in the past suffered many unfair treatments, but I’m guessing some of the people posting prior to me would just say something like ‘the past is the past.’
I don't think a French person should get a special treatment but an equal one. Anyone not being French would have no idea of this. I could write a whole book about the way French people have been mistreated simply because they spoke French. It's ridiculous. People not getting jobs because they were French, racist comments (like the ones I read above’ in in many public areas, different types of bullying. In many cases kids refused to speak their native tongue just because they were afraid of being ridiculed. That makes absolutely no sense, not making Ottawa a bilingual city. I think it’s that French people simple want to be recognised as an equal for once. We’ve been here just as long as Anglophones, actually even longer so why not.
I'm sick and tired of hearing French. I think these arrogant French speaking morons need to learn to speak English. When I go to Quebec I speak English loud and proud since it's canada and English is the language we speak.
Stupid French people. Your language is dead. Nobody speaks French anymore. Your culture sucks, your province is poor and full of corruption and your people undereducated.
Some of the stupidest people I have met are French losers. The language sounds like a bunch of monkey grunts and if you dare speak French to me I will slap the English into your mouth.
Or should I say "mout" or "close da light" lol. "Dis ting and dat ting". You can tell a dumb Frenchman because he can't say "th"
Where's the option for take away the BS we allready gave them?
They force us to speak french to work in government over here in ONT, but in quebec not. They have special sign rules to say signs have to be more french, they have special rules about teaching french over english in quebec schools, the french people all work in ontario easily, but we cant work as easily in quebec, it is ALL BS! Stop giving them special treatment! It is not FAIR. Let's mirror policy from them, match our french policy to their english policy! Put an end to bending over and taking it from quebec since the 70's!
Okay enough is enough. The province of Ontario has become bilingual in case nobody had noticed. Thanks to Dalton Mc Guinty and the fiberals.
By making Ottawa officially bilingual we will only be making sure that no upper management jobs will be held by uni-lingual English speakers then so on down the chain of command to the bottom. So much like the Federal civil Service, the Armed Forces and (as previously mentioned) the Province and the Ottawa Hospital (thanks to David Levine, remember him?)
Its hard enough to get a good job around here if you are English so stop this absurdity. Eastern Ontario has a high percentage of French speakers in it as prominently displayed by their huge flags to be seen flying higher and larger than Canada's flag. So stop trying to push something that doesn't need pushing.
I don't think the opinions are nuanced. Here is the least nuanced you can get. No this city should not become officially bilingual. I am all for equality of languages if the number of people who speak them are equal. I am not for catering to 10% of the countries population and roughly 14% of the city's population.
Where is the option for "Absolutely NOT"?!?! also @Jacqueline... YOU are reading this paper, and seem to be in favour of it! I'm guessing you're a Francaphone... oui?
As well, this recomondation should be only be considered if our Neighbours across the river are willing to do the same!! Try bieng an english tourist (from the US) there finding your way around trying to read thier french ONLY signs! If we are truly a Bilingual nation than pony up QC!
This poll does not reflect the opinion of Francophones living in Ottawa, as most of them do not read this newspaper. This poll is skewed right from the first question. The answers represent the opinion of Anglophones.
As the core French as the language at home is at about 15%, and the bulk of these are in Vanier, to officially call Ottawa "bilingual" would be skewed. Once again, special interest groups have raised their call for more recognition of French, not English, despite their reference to bilingualism. It happened the same way at the national level with the Trudeau Liberals, with the bulk of Francophones being in Quebec and New Brunswick, while the balance of Canada, excluding some in Manitoba being Anglophones or otherwise. This has cost the country millions over the years to support, while Quebec fosters French with a minority English as its language policy.
Another 'we want, we want' group. The service provided in the city is far more than the numbers warrant (remember Trudeau's 'as numbers warrant' issue?). I do not believe for a second that tourists shy away from Ottawa due to it not being officially declared bilingual. Even in France.
Do not allow this to fester any more.
Your poll results are skewed by an integrated and implicit bias, given that respondents who disagree with the proposal to make the nation`s capital officially bilingual have no other option but to agree with the statement that «it doesn`t make any sense.» My sense is that opinions on this matter are likely more nuanced.
Do these same people demand a totally and officially bilingual NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION? It always seems strange to me that when federal monies are at stake, Quebec, via Gatineau, demands that the City of Ottawa is only part of the Capital.
Even Ottawa residents, generous as we seem to be, want to include Gatineau in the NCR with transportation that is funded by two levels of government on the Ontario side......and yet, we hear nothing from Gatineau when it comes to the Official Language debate, for the capital.
All of a sudden it is only Ottawa who is not representing language in the NCR. It is only Ottawa, who is diminishing our standing internationally....
I am all for EQUALITY of language for all residents on the NCR and the entire country for that matter....but so long as we continually have these "resident (actually SPECIAL INTEREST) groups trying to hi-jack the debates....the National disgrace of language duality ( the fault of BOTH official peoples) will go on! How unfortunate