(CBC News circulated the following on August 19, 2009.)
OTTAWA — The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages has received a complaint concerning the Via rail evacuation in eastern Ontario following an engine fire Sunday evening.
The office confirmed it has received the complaint, which follows passengers’ accounts in the media describing trouble obtaining emergency instructions in French during the evacuation. However, as of Tuesday, the office had not yet determined whether the complaint will result in an investigation.
Hundreds of passengers were forced to leave the train, which was travelling from Toronto to Ottawa, around 8 p.m. Sunday night after the fire broke out as the train was just south of the town of Richmond, now part of Ottawa’s southwest outskirts.
The office of the language commissioner issued a reminder that Via Rail must offer services in both official languages, even on Ontario routes, because francophones represent more than five per cent of the population in the province.
On Monday, Via Rail spokeswoman Claude Arsenault had said the rail company, which is owned by the Crown, tries to have as many francophone employees as possible on board its trains, but one needed to take into account that the emergency took place between Toronto and Ottawa.
On Tuesday, another spokeswoman, Julie Durocher, backpedalled, saying that in fact, the company’s policy is to offer service in both languages all the time at all its stations and call centres, and aboard its trains.
Meanwhile, the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadiennes du Canada (FCFA) issued a news release Tuesday slamming Via’s earlier excuse, which it characterized as lacking respect for both francophone citizens outside Quebec and laws concerning official languages.