MONTREAL — This month, the Gazette reported an announcement by Montreal city councillor Marvin Rotrand that the under-representation of anglophones in the city’s workforce will be addressed by steps such as allowing job applicants to use a dictionary during the written French-language test, and loosening the requirements for French-language proficiency for some jobs.

These steps are positive and welcome, but if they are not part of a carefully planned process — similar to the present employment-equity programs for women, visible minorities and aboriginal people — they could have counterproductive consequences.

The issue is of crucial importance for the long-term vitality of the English-speaking community in all its racial and ethnic diversity. It is also important for the quality of overall city programs and services, and for the integrity of our municipal democracy. It is a widely accepted democratic principle that the legitimacy and effectiveness of a government depends on its ability to reflect and respond to the needs, interests and aspirations of the governed. That ability greatly depends on the representation, participation and input of citizens at all levels of public administration.

Since 2000, under a provincial employment-equity law known as Law 143, all provincial and municipal public organizations overseen by the provincial government — including school boards, universities, municipalities, health institutions and Crown corporations — must adopt measures to eliminate obstacles to equal-employment opportunities for ethnic minorities, visible minorities, women and aboriginal people. The law, however, does not apply to the provincial government’s own civil service — that is, provincial ministries; but it does apply to municipal departments like urban planning, or parks and recreation. The provincial civil service has its own strictly voluntary program for employment equity — and measures apply only to hiring, and not to promotion of employees from within.

Although Law 143 is designed to address discrimination in the employment of members of the designated groups, it does not mention anglophones. Under the Charter of the French Language (Bill 101), the English language was not (and is still not) seen by policy-makers as a factor leading to discrimination in employment in the same way that race, sex or mother tongue other than English or French have historically been perceived and acknowledged.

When Law 143 came into force in 2001, many public organizations were given a transition period by the Quebec Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission to set in place a structure to implement employment-equity programs. There are specific organizational steps to follow, such as conducting an internal survey of staff composition in all job categories; a review of employment systems, criteria and procedures; the establishment of quantitative objectives to correct under-representation; and the development of redress and support measures to ensure fair representation in all job categories.