Canada needs more bilingual grads
Submitted by 3cs on Sun, 2006-10-15 11:13.
canada bilingual language english french
OTTAWA -- Canada's new official languages commissioner says he favours tying federal university funding to a program which requires graduates to speak both official languages -- French and English -- in order to obtain their degrees.
Graham Fraser, whose nomination to replace outgoing commissioner Dyane Adam was approved by Parliament last week, cites European Union funding through the Erasmus Mundus program as a possible model for the Canadian government to follow to turnout more bilingual university students.
The aim of the Erasmus Mundus program is to enhance the quality of European higher education and to promote intercultural understanding.
Fraser, who has no legislative authority, told CanWest News Service he is reviewing ideas such as the Erasmus program that he proposed at the end of his recent book: Sorry, I Don't Speak French to determine if he can use them in his new job.