Hay River (Feb 14/05) - An employee of the Hay River hospital has been reprimanded for speaking French on the job.

The unidentified woman received a letter of reprimand in December, which "shocked" her union.

"I think it demonstrates a degree of intolerance," says Jean-Francois Des Lauriers, regional vice-president with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).

Des Lauriers says the gist of the reprimand was that it is "rude" to speak any language other than English while working at H.H. Williams Hospital, including French or aboriginal languages.

"We were all floored when we saw that," he said, noting there was no issue of compromised service to the public.

Des Lauriers says the situation reminds him of aboriginal people being punished for speaking their languages in residential school.

The union will formally object to the reprimand, either by grievance or the human rights process, he said.

"We're exploring our options at this point."

He noted NWT human rights legislation does not recognize language as a prohibited grounds for discrimination.

Workers can speak any language they choose while on lunch and coffee breaks, he notes. "But not on work time," Des Lauriers said.

Paul Vieira, CEO of the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority, says there is no language policy at the hospital.

"There's no decision to suppress people using their languages other than English," he says.

However, he added, there is an "implied policy" that English is the hospital's working language.