MONTREAL--Students from Marymount Academy are showing their appreciation for bus drivers the day after an STM ticket taker created a language kerfuffle by posting a sign in his booth.
During the lunch hour on Friday the high school students set up shop at the Villa Maria metro, just a block away from their school, to distribute coffee and muffins to bus drivers.
90 percent of students at the EMSB high school take public transit daily, and they planned this show of appreciation in August.
It's just fluke that their desire to give thanks comes the day after a ticket taker posted a sign at that same metro station that has outraged many people within the anglophone community.
"In light of what has happened today I think it is even more important that the kids stand behind the drivers who are fantastic," said EMSB commissioner Ellie Israel.
The controversial sign went up Wednesday, was taken down Thursday morning, but put back in place Thursday evening.
It reads "Au Quebec, c'est en francais que ca se passe," which translates as "In Quebec, we operate in French."
Many people say they are upset by the tone of the message, which implies that people who ask to be served in other languages will not be accommodated.
STM employees are not allowed to put up signs in their booths or on their buses, and administrators were planning to meet with employees on Friday.
Anyone who spots such a sign is encouraged to file a complaint.
The STM has said in the past that provincial law prevents them from asking employees to speak to the public in English, or making language skills a requirement for employment.
A group calling itself the Office Quebecois de la langue anglaise says it is planning a protest at the Villa Maria metro station for 6 p.m. Friday.
In a written statement the group demanded an apology for "this discrimination."
