---

 

COMMUNIQUÉ

 

---

 

For Immediate Release

 

STUDY OF THE QUALITY OF FRENCH SERVICES 2012

THE DISAPPOINTING RESULTS!

 

St. John’s, November 19, 2012 – The Fédération des francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador (FFTNL) is disappointed with the results obtained during the study that took place in the summer and fall of 2012, with the aim of verifying the quality of services in French in the offices of the federal government.

The study, whose results were announced on November 7 in the presence of Mr. Graham Fraser, Commissioner of Official Languages, was conducted among a panel of offices officially bilingual of federal government in the province, had showed significant gaps.

Oddly enough, the telephone service, which should be easy to implement in both official languages, is very poor and obtained a score as low as 60% for service in French.

FFTNL is also particularly unsatisfied with the active offer in the receptions of those bilingual offices, where investigators were offered a service in the official language of their choice in only 42% of cases.

"These results are unfortunately not a surprise, and that reflects what our francophone citizens observe in their everyday lives." said the president of the FFTNL, Jules Custodio. He adds, "More than 40 years after the adoption of the Official Languages Act, it is regrettable that we still have so much to be done to make it happen significantly in the offices of the federal government officially bilingual. We hope that the authorities concerned will measure the delay, and act for the situation to be made acceptable in the future. '.

For the first time this year, FFTNL checked the quality of French-language services in several federal government offices, all officially declared as bilingual according to the Treasury Board. The results of this study will also for the future, allow longer term, to see if the situation has improve.

Full details of the study are available (French and English) at: www.francotnl.ca/EnquetesServicesEnFrancais

- 30 –

Founded in 1973, the Fédération des francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador (FFTNL) is a provincial organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of the interests and rights of the Acadian and Francophone communities in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Information:

• Gaël Corbineau, executive director
  Fédération des francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador
  65, Ridge rd, suite 233 - St. John’s (NL) - A1B 4P5
  Email : dg@fftnl.ca – Phone (709) 722-0627

Follow us