Montreal South Shore grocery store gets creative in helping employees learn French
A grocery store on Montreal's South Shore is struggling to find employees who speak French.
The store has hired dozens of people who've only recently arrived in Quebec, and came up with a creative way to help them learn on the job.
Oscar Lion works at the Boucherville Provigo and is one of the hardest-working employees in the store.
His managers say he's efficient and reliable but is fighting a major obstacle.
"When customers come to me, they're speaking in French," said the immigrant whose family moved to Quebec six months ago.
He is one of 10 recently hired immigrants who are learning to speak French.
Provigo social media manager Martine Coulombe said the company is struggling to find French-speaking employees, so they came up with a creative way to help immigrants learn on the job.
New arrivals wear a button at the store that informs customers that they're still learning French and asks them to speak slowly.
Lion said it's made a huge difference.
"They are very patient," he said. "They are very grateful."
Coulombe said that since the employees have started wearing the buttons, customers feel like they're part of the learning process.
For Lion, it's an opportunity to support his family and learn the language at the same time.
"In the work they teach us," he said. "They give us that great opportunity [to] learn French."
Provigo is also giving its employees two free hours of French lessons per week during work hours, in addition to the hands-on experience.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
It's 30 years since apartheid ended. South Africa's celebrations are set against growing discontent
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.