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Wed 7 Jul, 2004 03:54 pm
TORONTO (Reuters) - A blind Quebec student may sue a Canadian university that denied him entry to English classes because his guide dog responds only to French commands.
Yvan Tessier was turned away from an English immersion course at the University of New Brunswick because he would be forced to give his dog, Pavot, instructions in French.
Students in the course are expected to communicate only in English, at all times, during the intensive five-week course. That includes talking to the dog.
"I feel a little bit frustrated and sad about the situation," Tessier said from Fredericton, New Brunswick on Wednesday.
"They don't have the openness of spirit to understand that it's better for me and my mobility to operate with my guide dog. It's only 17 commands in French, it won't compromise the English program."
Tessier said he would file a complaint with the human rights commission if the university stuck to its decision.
The graduate student has been guided by the black Labrador retriever for the past two years. Pavot was trained by the Quebec-based Mira Foundation specifically for French speaking clients.
"We were astonished by this," said Pierre Noiseux, a spokesman at the foundation which placed Pavot with Tessier.
"The dog doesn't speak French or English. He doesn't know how to spell 'en avant.' He doesn't know it's French. He just knows that 'en avant' means forward."
Noiseux said the university's decision was tantamount to discrimination, given that it had accepted Tessier and only raised objections once he inquired about services for blind students.
The university in the eastern Canadian town of Fredericton, New Brunswick, said it turned Tessier away because it did not have enough time to prepare for his special needs. It said he can join the program once Pavot learns English commands.
"In the past, the service has been provided that we do teach their guide dogs commands in English, so the dog learns English as well," a university spokeswoman told CBC Television.
Tessier said it would take too long to teach Pavot English commands. The Mira Foundation said it was also dangerous to teach the dog new commands just as Tessier arrives in unfamiliar surroundings.
"He's in a new city, he needs a dog that will be really alert," Noiseux said. "Sure we could take the dog, bring him back and recode. But why would I do that? The guy is French."
Those Canadians who perceive there to be benefit in speaking only French should understand the majority of their nation does not speak French. If someone from The Maritimes or Quebec wishes to avoid the inconvenience of getting along in English, it is nescessary only for that individual to avoid the non-French-speaking provinces. Its a silly situation from both sides, however. The prospectus for school's immersive English class clearly states all communication is to be in English, and, after all, that's what immersive instruction is all about. The student was remiss in not sorting out that detail, as he knew his dog was only trained to respond to French commands. The school is silly for imposing its rule as regards to a student's interaction with his service dog, as without compromising their policy they easily could avail themselves of precisely the same exceptions that permit service dogs to accompany their owners into eating establishments and other public facilities, including transportation ... a no brainer. And silliest of all is the clown who said ""Sure we could take the dog, bring him back and recode. But why would I do that? The guy is French" ... "the guy" is not French, he is a Canadian francophone.
Silly is as silly does.
There was a fabulous segment on As It Happens on the CBC last night about this case.
The school would have been more than willing to take this on, if they'd been given some notice. They've had at least one visually impaired student with a "french-speaking" guide dog in the past. They've used the retraining of the dog as the student's project, and it's apparently gone quite well. This guy waited too long to let them know he'd be coming, there's another session later in the summer, if he's serious about this he can sign up for the next round NOW. He really did not make a good case for himself when the interviewers spoke to him about his approach to this program.
well there we go
there is reason behind madness after all
Still.
I have taken many italian classes in which you may not speak english. They last three hours each.
How many times would this fellow need to murmur to his dog? The dog gets to learn a new language, did he sign up? Won't he be confused with different word commands for the same task? This is the only project the blind fella could handle?
i took spanish classes where we were not supposed to speak english either
my classes only lasted two hours
but i noticed a bit of english slipped in now and again
oh well..... takes all sorts to make this world the crazy place it is
utterly ridiculous. i bet if he sued them, he would win. that's almost as if he was not let in with a french wheelchair. the dog is his trnansportation aid and the commands he receives are not the class's or anyone else's business. i also don't think he needed to notify the school that the dog only understood french commands. why on earth? if i had a slovak guiding dog here, would i be kicked out of a state office because the only official language here is english? i know, immersion class, but still, this is totally absurd!
I'm guessing that a well-trained Guide Dog has a highly developed sense of situation and would be able to become bilingual very quickly. Situations
are much more basic than words.
I think the "Master" is a showboater.
It is a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week immersion program. I did a similar one in French about 30 years
ago, living in the Gaspe. These programs are not unusual here. You will not graduate if you are caught speaking another language. You are in a small unilingual community - you can expect the nuns (in my day) and shopkeepers to snitch on you.
If he had advised them properly, he could have had a superb program set up. After listening to him yesterday, I have no sympathy for him.
Apparently they've reached some kind of agreement. I'm disappointed. I'm tired of the generation of 'we deserve whatever we want to have'.
I agree with him in principle even if he is a fool of some sort.
Dagmaraska is right, the dog is his necessary transportation, his eyes, and no one else's business.
"Pardon. Your dog is, how you say, 'umping mah leeg".
"Goddam Frenchie!!"
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