Selecting out the best is a quality that officialdom in Canada, excepting the province of Quebec, does better than anyone in the world.
And the process that is used to select out talent is the requirement of being officially bilingual, which, again, excepts the province of Quebec. It is folly to insist that the Police Chief of Ottawa, the Governor General of Canada or a Supreme Court Justice, just to name three examples, has to be bilingual.
Of course our country is officially bilingual. The reality is quite different. There are pockets of bilingualism, downtown Ottawa, parts of Montreal, Moncton but beyond that this is the land of two languages. Not hating, just stating facts.
Then along comes New Brunswick NDP MP Yvon Godin. The dipper from the Maritimes is championing, as Mindelle Jacobs penned in yesterdays Edmonton Sun "...Bill C-232, which would require Supreme Court of Canada justices to be bilingual. It has passed third reading in the House of Commons and is off to the Senate for what one can only hope is sober second thought and a good thrashing."
She quotes retired Supreme Court justice John Major, a legal consultant in Calgary who doesn't mince words criticizing Godin's private member's bill: "The thing just makes no sense. If they want to sacrifice competency for linguistics, well, it's just a mistake. It's essential that we pick not the most gifted language people, but the most gifted lawyers (for the bench).There are enough lawyers in the Liberal party sitting in Parliament who should know that."
Ms. Jacobs later scribbles that "In fact, every Liberal MP present for last week's vote did so in favour of Godin's bill."
This law will select out talent.
I want the best for my country, regardless.
WFDS
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