Man wins right to work in French: Quebec tribunal

The Quebec Labour Tribunal logo photographed in Jan. 2024. (Jacques Boissinot, The Canadian Press)

A man who asserted his right to work in French has won his case before the labour Tribunal, invoking the new provisions of the province's French-language law (Bill 96) to that effect.

The complainant had not obtained a position for which he had applied in the procurement and logistics department of a company. He complained to the Labour Administrative Tribunal, contesting the employer's request to submit his CV in English and to conduct the job interview in Korean.

Before the tribunal, the employer's representative argued that the man did not get the job because he did not have the required skills. He also argued that the English and Korean language requirements were necessary to perform the duties associated with the posted position.

But the tribunal decided otherwise after hearing the evidence.

In its decision, the tribunal stated that the company "failed to demonstrate that it had met all the conditions for concluding that it had taken reasonable steps to avoid imposing the requirement of knowledge of English and Korean before proceeding with the posting of the position."

The complaint was, therefore, upheld by the tribunal. It reserved its powers to determine possible remedies.

-This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 20, 2024.