Over 60% Of Montreal Businesses Asked For English Skills & Legault Says It's 'Concerning'

The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) has presented the results of a survey on "the language requirements set by Quebec employers during the hiring process." The results are striking.

The OQLF found that "39.8% of Quebec businesses required or wanted the person hired to have English language skills for the last position filled in 2018. On the Island of Montreal, this percentage rose to 62.9%."

Editor's Choice: Quebec Lost 450,000 Jobs At The Peak Of The Crisis & Here Are The Most Affected Industries

In Montreal, as many as 41.4% of surveyed businesses "required or wanted" English so that applicants could communicate within the office.

“

It's very concerning, the OQLF data.

François Legault

On Tuesday, Premier Legault called the results of the survey "concerning."

"It's not acceptable. [...] We're going to propose measures to improve Law 101."

Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for the French language, wrote in a Facebook post that "it is abnormal that a worker cannot work in French at home in Quebec. Quebecers have the right to earn their living in French in Quebec."

"This is a [...] fundamental right." 

In Quebec, French has been the only official language since 1974.

The OQLF is responsible "for ensuring that French is the normal and usual language of work, communications, commerce, business, and administration."