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Canada guide dog in language row

A blind francophone student in Canada has been barred from English immersion classes - because his guide dog only responds to commands in French.

Yvan Tessier, 39, from Quebec says it would be too confusing to retrain his black Labrador, Pavot, to respond to "stay" instead of "reste".

But the University of New Brunswick insists English must be the only language spoken in its lessons.

Canada is officially bilingual but this status can provoke tensions.

Mr Tessier says he is entirely dependent on his dog and is worried that trying to teach him English commands could be confusing and even dangerous.

"My dog is my eyes, my autonomy, and my independence," he told the Globe and Mail newspaper.

"He represents everything to me. I knew that I'd have to speak English to people. But I thought I could speak French to my guide dog."

Mr Tessier says he is considering bringing a claim for discrimination against the university in the anglophone province neighbouring Quebec.

Language minefield

But the university says the success of its intensive language course depends on everything being conducted in English.

And they say there have been other cases of students attending the classes with their guide dogs.

"In the past, with advance preparation, the guide dog has been trained in a few English commands to make sure the person is safe and mobile," spokeswoman Susan Mesheau told the Toronto Star newspaper.

Commentators say Pavot's ability to understand just one language throws the spotlight on the minefield of Canada's linguistic legislation which aims to guarantee the status of both English and French.

The issue of language is also intricately tied to the perpetually thorny issue of separation of the French-speaking province of Quebec from Canada.

[original article]

Posted by thinkum at July 7, 2004 04:00 PM