Job requirements usually stipulate both basic and desirable qualifications. Applicants need not apply if they do not meet the basic requirements for a job.
As a result, when bilingual qualifications are deemed basic to the job application, the employer seriously restricts the field of opportunity. In essence the unilingual English applicant is dismissed. The bilingualism restriction shortens the list of applicants who may not hold a candle to others when considering the desirable/special qualifications of the job.
Should any organization be required to reflect the Canadian population within its rank and file, it simply hires on the basis of restricting the job application to suit the segment of the population being targeted. Once this pool has been gathered, the competition is held solely within this group, one to another. This narrow competition often lowers the standards of success because the job must be filled and the mainstream candidate has been excluded. This same scenario is utilized when considering promotions.
Bilingualism is an asset without a doubt, but should be very carefully considered when dealing with a basic requirement for a job/promotion. Senator Claudette Tardif in her article feels strongly that all Supreme Court justices must be bilingual. To do this definitely limits the field and often stifles career aspirations by unfairly limiting promotional opportunity.
Simon Chance, St. Albert
