Public Servant Perspective (sorry guys, this is gonna be a long thread): Despite my very Franco name, I'm an Anglophone from Southern Ontario ( #KWawesome). I took core French from Grades 4-11. I took French again in 1st year undergrad. Mostly I remember conjugating verbs.

Prior to moving to Ottawa for a co-op term in 2002, I had read two books in French: The Little Prince and a Maigret novel. I realized I wanted to stay in Ottawa and work for Canadians. I knew I needed to better my French. So I bought Harry Potter à l'école des sorciers.

I made a rule for myself where one out of every 3 books I read had to be in French. I started listening to French radio - which at first made no sense, but started to improve. I signed up for conversational French courses instead of more grammaire.

When I applied to law school in 2005, I was able to take 30% of my courses in French. Yes I wrote the exams in English because - les nerfs. But my average in French was higher than in English, not because the standards were lower, but because I actually had to pay attention.

It's 2020, and I still need to put in the work to maintenir my French. If there is a choice, I sign up for trainings en français. I still try to read French books regularly. I search out French podcasts and tv shows that I might enjoy.

English is everywhere in Ottawa, you bump into it without trying. But French, you will have to seek out. The rewards of bilingualism are beyond career benefits. Ça vaut la peine. So don't downplay my gains saying it was luck. Parce que je travaille fort.

And.. somehow the article that inspired this thread got lost. But, here it is. Et, je suis d'accord avec @bpellerin https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/pellerin-no-bilingualism-is-not-about-discrimination?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR19MEFxtSqkIPyXewYB44zpMvRlbRWyXLVJXhIP-cJleOWvo2I1dlThTHo#Echobox=1601926342