Friday, September 21, 2007

More linguistic idiocy out of Quebec

Let's see. Quebec has a law which provides that professionals, such as dentists, doctors, lawyers, etc., if not educated in the province, must pass oral and written tests showing that they are fluent in French. There are no exceptions. Well, Mohammed Raizi, who speaks FOUR languages fluently (including both French and English), passed the oral test easily, but flunked the written test four times: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/09/20/ot-dentist-070920.html. As a result, the Quebec government, which had been letting him practice dentistry under a temporary license, has revoked that license, which in turn has prompted Raizi to say that he may very well move.

Only in the bizarro world that is Quebec could something like this take place. By all accounts, Raizi is an excellent dentist (having 2000+ clients would seem to be ample evidence of that fact). His patients have confirmed that he speaks fluent French to them. Yet, the province would rather see him leave than practice dentistry because of this asinine, discriminatory rule. Keep in mind as well, Quebec already has problems with shortages of medical professionals, including in the area where Raizi was practicing.

1 comment:

Serket said...

If French is the official language in Quebec than I think they have a legitimate case. I think we should have English as our official language and require all government documents and messages be in English.