British Expats - Finally leaving Ottawa

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- - Finally leaving Ottawa (https://britishexpats.com/forum/canada-56/finally-leaving-ottawa-834028/)

Re: Finally leaving Ottawa

Quote:

Originally Posted by a northern soul (Post 11442821)

:goodpost:
It's not even the fact of the neighbourhood being Anglo as on paper it is, I have lived in the Pointe, the Mile end, westmount and Ndg and found the same set of people everywhere,always pushing for this n that and more more more.
I just find the vast majority of MOntrealers to be so damned weird, I am a city boy and to me here,it's like living in Royston Vasey!:eek:

Has it occurred to you that you don't speak English very well either?

Re: Finally leaving Ottawa

Quote:

Originally Posted by Novocastrian (Post 11442871)

Yes, but we're discussing QuÃ©bec, not France.

But most people think they are the same thing. My missus gets annoyed by it. She is almost pure Quebecoise (slight hint of wagon-burner) but always defines herself as Canadian/North American. Never French.

I haven't see her in over a week so I'm looking forward to getting home.

Re: Finally leaving Ottawa

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExKiwilass (Post 11442575)

no, because it's not really a bilingual country. the centre can keep telling the rest of us it is, but in reality it's not. it just a form of discrimination which directly favours those born around toronto/ottawa etc, which is imo basically a different country than where i live in vancouver. why the **** should anyone be paid for bilingualim in french in vancouver with it's microscopically small francophone population who all speak english anyway cos they have to to survive, except the ones sucking off the federal government teat? you know who you are.

The only parts of the country that are bilingual, in the sense of both languages being spoken, are Montreal and Gatineau. Similarly, the only parts of the country that are metric, in the sense of things being measured in SI units, are government offices. Bilingualism and metricallity are fictions in which the government likes to indulge, it's not our place as immigrants to tell them they are wrong. It's our place to learn enough French and enough kilohectaring to get by or, ideally, to beat them at their own game.

You know, of course, that my child has been paid for bilingualism in French in Vancouver since, during university, she was the receptionist at the francophone cultural centre. Now she's paid for knowing French as it's handy when she goes to Ottawa for on-the-job training. I doubt she speaks to her husband in French but, at work, knowing the language is an asset.