Bilingualism lags at Halifax airport: language watchdog
Canada’s Commissioner of Official Languages says the Halifax Airport Authority has not done enough to ensure bilingual service at the Stanfield International Airport.
In an audit report published Thursday, Graham Fraser said the airport authority has only just started to move on the issue, 10 years after assuming full responsibility for managing the airport.
“There is still a long way to go until the airport becomes a place where full and efficient services are available in both official languages,” Fraser stated in a release.
Fraser said his report shows that most airport service providers, like car rental and foreign exchange outfits, have “a vague or mistaken understanding of their linguistic obligations.”
Fraser said the airport authority has pledged to follow up on several of his recommendations.
However, he criticized the authority for apparently ignoring some of the key recommendations until special funding arrives from the federal government.
Fraser called the refusal “unacceptable,” noting that many Canadian airports show better official languages performance without special government funding.
“However, I do not want to downplay the progress that has been made. in certain respects, the Halifax Airport Authority is headed in the right direction,” he said, pointing to spot checks of the quality of bilingual service at the airport.
Bilingualism lags at Halifax airport: language watchdog
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