I wonder when Ill be kicked out of the province for speaking out? This letter is being e-mailed and sent by snail mail to every MLA in the province, the premier and to our health minister. ********************************************************************************** To Whom It May Concern: My name is Brenda Pike. I am and have been a Licensed Practical Nurse in New Brunswick for 19 years. My profession is my passion and defines who I am to the very core of my being. My parents enrolled me into the Late Immersion program many years ago at my request to allow me the opportunity to learn and improve my French second language proficiency. I chose to continue my summer cadet training in French. When I graduated from high school, I was tested at a level 3+ (Advanced Plus). I used my French second language as the opportunity allowed. I have worked for Horizon Health Network (formerly known as River Valley Health) in a variety of settings for 14 years – many times because of my ability to provide service in both official languages. In 2004, I tested at the required 2+ proficiency level. Last summer, I applied for 3 full time nursing positions all with the requirement to be able to “handle verbal French inquiries”. Because it had been 10 years since my last proficiency testing, I was required to do a telephone proficiency interview. Though I don’t always have the opportunity to speak French, I walked away from the interview confident that I had at least passed at the minimum required level of 2+ (using the standards on the government’s website as my baseline) which would have allowed me to accept full time work within my chosen profession. You can’t even begin to imagine my devastation when, a week later, I was told my French wasn’t “good enough” in an area where the likelihood of me needing it all was slim. My dream of working within my profession was shattered. It’s challenging enough to find sustainable employment within the nursing profession because of bedside nursing cutbacks and even more challenging when a perceived language barrier holds me back from pursuing my dream. The 19 years of experience I have as an LPN and the passion I have for this profession are meaningless because my second language isn’t “good enough”. I can’t help but wonder if I had to access healthcare in an area serviced by Réseau de Santé Vitalité if I would be able to access it by a fully bilingual person in my language of choice by the same standards placed on me (level 2+ English proficiency). Forgive me if I say I doubt it. Forgive me for suggesting that Francophones in New Brunswick appear to live by a different set of standards than the Anglophone population. In a day and age when our province is in the dire straights that it is in, one would think our elected officials would be trying to keep New Brunswicker’s in NB instead of seeing them leave in large numbers to go west for work. Let me be very clear: I do not dislike the Francophone community. I treat everyone equally regardless of who they are, where they come from or the language in which they communicate. They breathe the same air that I breathe; their blood is the same color of red as mine. My issue is the discrimination because of language. New Brunswick is anything but an equal opportunity province. And so I, wife and mother of 3, work in a non nursing role (that requires me to be bilingual by the way) in order to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. I am “good enough” by my current employer’s standards to do my job but not “good enough” to secure a nursing position by provincial standards. What a sad day it is! The point of this letter is to make you aware that there are many healthcare professionals (myself included) who WANT to work within their profession but can’t because of outrageous standards placed on them. Hard working, educated, tax paying voters who want to work full-time and contribute to our desperate economy but can’t because of blatant language discrimination. Actually, broaden that! It isn’t only healthcare professionals who are facing this discrimination – every walk of life is affected by the same discrimination I speak of. Open your ears and listen to what New Brunswicker’s are saying – it’s a common theme and it’s really old! I wonder how many of our elected officials have been tested at the minimum required level of 2+ French (or English) proficiency in order to serve their constituents. Is it really too much to ask for equality? Is it too much to ask for to be able to work within my chosen profession without being discriminated against because of a perceived language barrier? Sincerely, Brenda Pike Licensed Practical Nurse/Infirmière Auxiliaire Autorisée PS Do I need to translate this letter into French so it can be understood or did I articulate myself clear enough to make my point?
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 10:58:10 +0000
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