We have not begun a formal investigation into the matter. But I have had some conversations with Ms. Achimov. As it says in the paper, I have an appointment to meet with Mr. Poirier from the union so that he can brief me on the situation. I find it troubling. Without confirming or dismissing the facts as presented in this morning’s paper, the situation does present some pressures, often unspoken, on francophone employees to not exercise their right to work in French.
Sometimes, there is the body language in meetings. It may be the fact that the manager never uses French in meetings. It may be a phone call from a political staffer. If the political staffer is unilingual and wants to see a document, he has no need to spell out the fact that he wants to see it in English. In some departments, the culture is such that English predominates to such an extent that francophones are very reluctant to write briefing notes in French and to use French in meetings.
That is why I have always stressed the importance of leadership. It is important for managers, senior managers and executives in the public service to not only tolerate the use of both languages—accepting it is not enough—but to actively promote the use of both official languages and to encourage francophones to use French in the workplace.