Watch: Montreal city councillor Marvin Rotrand comments on the perceived lack of anglophones in the municipal public service.

Montreal – A group of prominent figures from Montreal’s anglophone community addressed the issue of hiring in the city’s civil service on Monday night.

Elected officials, municipal workers, scholars and journalists were among those discussing allegations that anglophones are currently under-represented in city positions.

“There is a perception, real or not, that there are few anglophones.” Tweet This

The meeting included a panel discussion and a question-and-answer session. Event participants and stakeholders tried to approach the event with an open mind, but didn’t shy away from their contention that this is a problematic situation that warrants more attention.

What do you think? Is there an issue with hiring anglophones in Montreal’s city civil service? Take our poll.

In a telephone interview with Global news, Beryl Wasjman, editor-in-chief of The Suburban Newspaper, insisted that the group was not “looking to put in affirmative action.” Rather, the aim would be to “encourage non-francophones to apply” for jobs.

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“The non-francophone community must get engaged” in the hiring process, Mr. Wasjman argued.

That view was echoed by others. Youth Employment Services ( YES) Montreal ’s executive director, Iris Unger, said she believed that “not many people apply to the city because there is a perception, real or not, that there are few anglophones [working there].”

Jack Jedwab of the Canadian Studies Association insisted that this is “a situation that needs attention” – and one that may just get it given that this is an election year. He suggested that a formal study should be conducted and a report prepared. “Optimally, a committee should be created with an advisory mandate to determine what steps need to be taken to improve representation of anglophones so that we can properly reflect the diversity of Montreal,” Mr. Jedwab added.

“The city can’t give a hard and fast figure – it just doesn’t know how many anglophones work for it.” Tweet This

Montreal city councillor Marvin Rotrand said that he and his colleagues in the council, “regardless of [the area] they represent, seem to feel that there are very few anglophones in their boroughs or in the central services that they deal with.”

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However, the situation as it currently stands is a challenging one to evaluate, Rotrand added. He noted that there are no existing statistics to support what is, at this stage, largely anecdotal evidence.

“The city can’t give me a hard and fast figure – it just doesn’t know how many anglophones work for it.”

The city confirmed that it does not compile data on anglophone hiring, as its official work language is French.

“English-speaking Montreal citizens can obtain numerous services in English.” Tweet This

Gonzalo Nunez, a spokesperson for the city’s public affairs unit, told Global News that an action plan had recently been adopted that looked into how to employ more women, First Nations, disabled individuals and members of visible and ethnic minorities.

“English-speaking Montreal citizens can [already] obtain numerous services in documents in English,” said Mr. Nunez in an e-mail.

A representative for the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste, which advocates for the protection of the French language in Quebec, was contacted for comment, but at the time of publication, had not gotten back to Global news.