Alberta Traffic Safety Act does not apply to Gilles Caron (Francophone)

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by moon

Meh.. so long as he didn't whine about the lack of questions in French or lack of signs in French or that he was special because he was French it wouldn't bother me.

Although if he played like Tanguay then yes it would kill me.

[Kerplunk]

If he understood what the ticket was for he should be forced to pay it. If he didn't, then he should have notified the officer and gotten help to understand. Can I use this argument too? The judge needs to get his head examined.

Do traffic tickets in Quebec have English on them? They are more uppity when it comes to language than most other provinces.

That being said, French IS an official language in Canada. I see no problem in adding French translations in 2 point font on a ticket, just for them.

[Resolute 14]

"Uppity" doesn't begin to describe Quebec's attitude towards English. Outright bigotry is more accurate.

IFF - So how many languages should a unilingual province include on its traffic citations to appease every minority group that dwells within? Sorry, I don't believe in placating the stupid and the lazy. Especially in this case, where I will agian state that I find it remarkably unlikely this twit doesn't know English.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

I'm pretty sure "60" is the same in both languages.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

"Uppity" doesn't begin to describe Quebec's attitude towards English. Outright bigotry is more accurate.

Well actually their logic is identical to yours. Because most Quebecers speak French, therefore traffic tickets should be issued in French to the exclusion of other languages, respect for diversity be damned.

For me, if I get a traffic ticket in Quebec, I hope I can be offered chance to read it in english. Not because I don't understand French--I do. But because I will understand the English better. I would find it considerate and courteous--that's all.

And just because the laws in Quebec are not considerate and courteous, doesn't mean that we have to do the same in Alberta. It sounds like what really upsets you is the idea that French has any legitimacy at all in Canada. Well, that's just tough, because like it or not a good chunk of Canadians speak French as their first language. Some of those people live in Alberta. What's the harm in treating their language and culture with respect?

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan

Well actually their logic is identical to yours. Because most Quebecers speak French, therefore traffic tickets should be issued in French to the exclusion of other languages, respect for diversity be damned.

For me, if I get a traffic ticket in Quebec, I hope I can be offered chance to read it in english. Not because I don't understand French--I do. But because I will understand the English better. I would find it considerate and courteous--that's all.

And just because the laws in Quebec are not considerate and courteous, doesn't mean that we have to do the same in Alberta. It sounds like what really upsets you is the idea that French has any legitimacy at all in Canada. Well, that's just tough, because like it or not a good chunk of Canadians speak French as their first language. Some of those people live in Alberta. What's the harm in treating their language and culture with respect?

Actually, I would bet that most people in Quebec speak both English and French, not just French.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

Actually, I would bet that most people in Quebec speak both English and French, not just French.

http://www12.statcan.ca/english/cens.../bilingual.cfm

Francophones in Quebec that are bilingual is less than 40%.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan

Well actually their logic is identical to yours. Because most Quebecers speak French, therefore traffic tickets should be issued in French to the exclusion of other languages, respect for diversity be damned.

Actually, their logic is not remotely identical to mine.

For one, I would not suppport any law that states French only signs are illegal, and that on bilingual signs, English must be placed above, and must be larger than, French.

A lot of those francophone communities in Alberta have many bilingual signs, and even french-only signs in places. No issue with that at all.

However, similar to the situation in Alberta, if I was in Quebec and got a traffic ticket, I would not complain if it was in French only. It's something anyone with a quarter of a brain would expect to see in a jurisdiction that is governmentally unilingual.

[DementedReality]

speaking of french, last summer i drove accross the country (Alberta to PEI) and starting in Saskatchwan, the further east I went the more french I heard. Sask, Manitoba, Ontario, and of course PQ and Maritimes had an amazing amount of french speakers.

i find the language laws obnoxious, however it is a reality and I am starting to learn friench and will encourage my children to as well. i know many people from around the world due to my work and frankly the NOrth Americans, more so than any other area, are the least lingual (is that a word?). most business people in the global community will speak at least 2 languages (english and their native tongue) but many many speak 3, 4, 5 or more. Especially Euro's.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by troutman

http://www12.statcan.ca/english/cens.../bilingual.cfm

Francophones in Quebec that are bilingual is less than 40%.

Interesting, thanks for the stats.

Pretty close to half the people though speak either both or english.

Maybe .5% of albertan's speak french only. (Again guessing at the numbers here....could be lower).