Tell that to the Oxford English Dictionary- you clearly know more than them. I am seriously losing the will to live on this thread, you guys must have way too much time on your hands. Make a mental note to myself - leave it to the experts on the other side Canada...

Oh, this? http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/42259

And you think a small, relatively unknown town in the BC interior, where, in your own words "english all the way!" fits the definition?

And leave what exactly to the experts on the other side of Canada? Objectivity, perhaps?

Novocastrian;11267327]Oh, this? http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/42259

And you think a small, relatively unknown town in the BC interior, where, in your words "english all the way!" fits the definition?[/QUOTE]

Obviously relatively unknown to you- I rest my case. As I say I was wishing aqua well, was not intending to be derogatory to any groups or populations French or English speaking. I shall go and serve the medical needs of what seems to an entirely English speaking non immigrant population..according to you anyhow, useful nonetheless .. And you??

I shall continue to struggle against Evil in the world in the vain hope of protecting the planet and its human inhabitants from nasty things.

I shall also continue to point out that places like Vernon BC are not cosmopolitan, but rather places struggling to finally emerge from the Wilderness and not particularly succeeding in that.

I shall, in addition, continue to serve the needs of a barely competent in English population of immigrant and non-immigrant University science students in their struggle to survive and prosper in Toronto thus avoiding moving to Vernon. (Or becoming a GP in such a place).

After that, soon, I shall struggle to enjoy my retirement.

HTH.

And when you retire I take it a move to the Okanagan is out then?? lol

Rather. I'd consider that a total failure. When I retire I think I may need a good deal more intellectual stimulation than available there.

Or even in Toronto.

Oh go on, I would take you on as a patient, you know you want to really..

I knew someone who moved to Vernon because he couldn't afford to live in Vancouver anymore and apparently there are lot of Germans or Ukrainians or both. I went to visit him once and once only, boy what a dump.

Yep, Oink
I hate my view from my deck overlooking Kalamalka lake. A real dump. Admittedly none of the honking great fish that you manage to catch though.

I live in Ottawa and have found that not speaking French fluently cuts out around two thirds of the jobs I can apply for (office/legal). I like the French language and tried to improve on my school French (classes at the good schools are expensive though) but I have recently been told by a downtown job agency that there is no point in learning French for a job with a bilingual requirement as it would always be given to a Francophone. I am talking about general office jobs and office jobs in law firms. A friend of mine in a similar job was laid off in January and, despite her experience, she has still not found another job. In a tighter job market, not speaking French is becoming more and more of an issue.

I am also leaving Ottawa shortly.

Isn't it reasonable to expect that, in a bilingual country, anything to do with law or government is going to require knowing both languages?

Ottawa is a bilingual city. West and south are mainly anglo. Anything east, all the way to the QC border, is mostly franco.

The majority of my neighbours are franco and work for the government. They work in English.

Bilingual positions will usually go to a franco, for a simple reason. Francos are much better at being bilingual than anglos are.

The friend I spoke about is an English speaking Canadian and in the past has been able to find work fairly easily. I know a number of born and bred non-French speaking Ontarian Canadians who tell me the situation was not always like this.

Hehe

That validates just about everything I said before. In a bilingual country the provinces should recognise both languages. Yeah I didn't hear of Ottawa language police till this thread either. I have a feeling OP is going on about something that isn't true

We'll this has become a heated thread!

So to explain for the slightly dim

Any company or government office you call or visit will first great you in French and English second, simply because they do not want to be labelled Anti Franco and run the risk of trouble.

Ottawa is in Ontario, or it was the last time I looked and Ontario is not a French province. I have no problem with francophones or the language. The post I made was simply my opinion and mine alone!

I suggest the critics on this thread apply for management jobs and then post their experiences.

And if Canada is primarily an English speaking country then why does Stephen Harper speak French first? Easy answer..... Doesn't want the backlash from the French speaking population.

You can keep the insults, sarcasm coming as it means nothing except the only way you have to answer a thread like this to be rude! To be honest it has made me smile to read the small minded comments from some of you on here...... Maybe you are Trolls! and I mean fat, slightly strange beings... Not internet trouble makers!

Again just my opinion

PS.. I sat an English exam when I applied for PR status.. Hmmm why not French??

( sitting waiting for the comments)

Enjoy your day people