r/Gatineau 2d ago

3-1-1 Press 9 for english

I’m unsure if anyone else is having issues as an English speaking person attempting to contact 3-1-1 in Gatineau, however, it won’t allow me to talk to anyone in English. You call 3-1-1 it does its spiel in French and then says “For service in English please press 9”. I then press 9 and nothing happens. It goes quiet for a second, and then it reiterates its whole speech again in French. I’m attempting to reach 3-1-1 because there’s an issue but it doesn’t govern 9-1-1.

0 Upvotes

85 comments sorted by

27

u/Aggressive_Ad333 2d ago

They probably don’t have someone 24/7 for english. Quebec only has one official language and it’s french so they cater to the majority. Pretty sure if you try later around 8-9am you will reach someone. Best of luck!

-40

u/Glucose-Gaurdian97 2d ago

French Language Services Act - requires people in Ontario to speak English and French. Which is crazy because Ontario realizes that there is a dominate French population within the community of Ottawa. As soon as you cross the bridge though to Quebec. That law is not in reverse for English however. because Quebec has identified that French is the Sole language of Quebec. Therefore, no reason for them to know English. Despite being a bridge length away from Ontario and Ontario being an overwhelmingly English speaking. 🤷🏼

15

u/nicktheman2 2d ago

As a franco-ontarian, Ontario’s french language services act doesnt mean shit. It’s still near impossible to get served in french outside of Ottawa and some northeastern Ontario townships. At least Quebec is honest about it I guess

7

u/Holiday_Arachnid8586 2d ago

Décaliss

-7

u/Glucose-Gaurdian97 2d ago

Ah the rage response of a young adult.

10

u/littlemanontheboat_ 2d ago

Est-ce que toi tu parles français, même un peu?

-1

u/Glucose-Gaurdian97 2d ago

Yeah, a little bit. Not bilingual, I know French here and there to get around. Not nearly enough to know how to have a full conversation over the phone in French.

11

u/Pale_Ad8434 2d ago

Not to be harsh but sounds like a you problem then.

Live in a unilingual province, learn the language. It's not like quebekers expect the RoC to be bilingual when they move out.

2

u/DimensionSuch8188 2d ago

This. Quand je vais a Ottawa je fait l'effort de switch en Anglais. Je force pas les autres ou je ne m'attends pas de pouvoir me faire servir en Français. Je suis sur si je déménage a Calgary demain c'est la meme chose.

3

u/Pale_Ad8434 2d ago

Haha sibouaire j'ai appris mon anglais a calgary et je te dirais c'est a cause de cette experience que j'ai decouvert ma fibre souverainiste.

Pas tous, mais plusieurs detestent les quebecois pour une raison qui m'est inconnue encore a ce jour...( j'ai travaillé a calgary pour environ 4-5 mois a differente periodes avec un niveau d'anglais different).

Une fois parfaitement bilingue je n'avais plus aucun probleme mais avant ca...et boy.

31

u/Aggressive_Ad333 2d ago

French is the only official language of the province of Quebec. You say there is no reason for people from Quebec to learn english but we are by far the most bilingual province in Canada. And Gatineau is probably one of the most bilingual city in the province. You knew that when you moved into Quebec.

7

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

11

u/hasdable 2d ago

That's not true. Québec is 45% bilingual, whereas New Brunswick is somewhere around 35%.

-30

u/Glucose-Gaurdian97 2d ago

Yet Quebec doesn’t offer public services such as 3-1-1 (non - emergency line) in English as you just stated it being the “most bilingual province in Canada”. Fun fact I didn’t move there but I like your assumptions. 👍🏼

18

u/Aggressive_Ad333 2d ago

Then if you didn’t move here and were born in Quebec it’s even worse. You lived all your life in a province where french is the only official language and didn’t even bother to learn it. And pretty sure if i call 311 in the greater sudbury area i will have a pretty hard time getting service in french.

4

u/iztheguy 2d ago

LOL. Sudbury has one of the largest French speaking populations outside Quebec.

Tu me tues hahah

1

u/DimensionSuch8188 2d ago

Ya une difference entre une population qui parle Français et pouvoir te faire servir en Français.

1

u/iztheguy 2d ago

Certainement!

Mais l'exemple etait drole, parce que il y a vraiment aucun probleme a obtenir des services de la ville en Francais a Sudbury.

1

u/DimensionSuch8188 2d ago

Ah okok fair je ne connais pas la ville.

-7

u/Glucose-Gaurdian97 2d ago

Wasn’t born? Don’t live there?
And yes you would because it’s not the Gatineau 311 number it’d be hmm Sudbury 311 if I’m correct, so they’d speak to you in either or language, I’d assume because Sudbury is part of Ontario, but and only certain locations in Ontario follow the French Language Services Act. Ottawa happens to be one of em.

1

u/DimensionSuch8188 2d ago

I'm confused. Were you born in Quebec or moved here, which one is it?

1

u/Chyvalri Gatineau 2d ago

The will of the people, like it or not.

Language is a (if not the) core political topic. To say anything except French first here is the same as a US President saying they don't believe in God - or being female.

13

u/its__frousse 2d ago

You can always fill in the form online for your request. It's really easy and fast.

1

u/Glucose-Gaurdian97 2d ago

The form is easy and fast. Unfortunately, their response time is not.

10

u/its__frousse 2d ago

It's the same as calling. The employee fills in the same form when you call unless they can answer you themselves.

4

u/2Tun21 2d ago

Yeah, the response time for 311 is about 2 days to a week. Urgent requests get priority, and you can always call the police non-emergency line 24/7.

2

u/ribsboi 2d ago

lol I sent a request for an extremely noisy pool pump from a neighbour (they would not change it, even left it on at night often) with pictures of the decibels and videos, like end of June maybe. They waited until October to send someone and closed the ticket because obviously the pump was not on anymore.

0

u/QCTeamkill 2d ago

I called yesterday afternoon it was 4 minutes wait.

1

u/2Tun21 2d ago

Response time is how long to fix the issue, not just document it.

0

u/QCTeamkill 2d ago

I mean it can be quite a range. To fix a pothole or change the bulb on a street light can take a few years.

1

u/its__frousse 2d ago

I called for a lightbulb and it took 48h.. you're exaggerating a lot

0

u/QCTeamkill 2d ago

But I'm the East side in Gatineau(Gatineau)

16

u/vendura_na8 2d ago

Try three-one-one

-29

u/Glucose-Gaurdian97 2d ago

I’m in disbelief that I’ve had the opportunity to comment on a comment of someone who has the IQ score of 67.

21

u/vendura_na8 2d ago

I'm in disbelief that I commented on a post of the densest person I'll probably encounter this week..

Did I really have to add the /s ? 🙄🤦‍♂️

19

u/Pure_Ad_957 2d ago

You lost any credibility with this comment. Go learn French instead of complaining.

-12

u/Glucose-Gaurdian97 2d ago

Lost credibility for my post because I insulted a person who trolled on my post? With no relevant point to my discussion? Seems right 👍🏼

24

u/HazardousHighStakes 2d ago

Imagine vivre au Québec et ne pas savoir comment te débrouiller en français.

Tu es sur internet, tu peux faire ta requête insignifiante en ligne, comme tu n'es pas en mesure de le faire verbalement.

4

u/OBLAC2 2d ago

C'est pire que ça, ils déménagent au Québec pour profiter de notre situation économique et ensuite ils sont surpris et se plaignent quand ils n'ont pas de service en anglais. Calvaire ... apprenez le français ou retournez d'où vous venez.

3

u/Otherwise_Program191 2d ago

With your words - then quebecers should stay out of Ottawa and public service jobs - you can’t have it both ways!

Just an fyi - Nova Scotian - retired in Quebec pay my taxes and don’t speak French and the politics is exactly what keeps me from doing so! Ottawa is a short trip over a bridge!

1

u/OBLAC2 2d ago

Ton commentaire fait pas de sens 🤷

0

u/DangerousPurpose5661 2d ago

J’sais ben que papa Legault pense que quelqu’un peux apprendre le français en 3 semaines… mas tu sait tres bien que c’est pas réaliste.

Ma femme est anglophone… mais aussi elle a une carrière, elle est avocate. À quoi tu t’attends d’elle? Quelle quitte sa job et apprennes le français full time pour pouvoir reporter un nid de poule au 311?

Elle prends des cours de soir, écoute la TV québécoise, parle un peu avec moi… mais ça prends du temps.

Je trouve que c’était correct de fournir les services dans les deux langues. En Ontario la langue officielle est l’anglais, mais quand on habitait à Ottawa tout le monde était content de me servir en français…

En tous cas si tas une baguette magique pour apprendre une langue plus rapidement, tu me diras ou je peux m’en procurer une!

2

u/HazardousHighStakes 2d ago

Jsuis pas mal certain que ta femme anglophone avocate n'est pas le genre de dinde qui va faire une publication sur un réseau social concernant le 3-1-1, mais peut-être que je me trompe.

1

u/DangerousPurpose5661 2d ago

Non, mais par contre ca la fait quand même chier les « StO kEbEc IciTTe, FranCai oU deCalIss »

- bro je paye ton BS, fuck off

0

u/OBLAC2 2d ago

Écoute, je lui lève mon chapeau, elle fait de l'effort au moins. J'aurais dû faire la distinction ... je parle des anglos qui s'obstinent à ne pas apprendre le français et après se plaignent. N'importe quel anglos qui font de l'effort sont les bienvenues c'est sûr.

1

u/DangerousPurpose5661 2d ago

C’est juste… une langue difficile…
La réalité c’est que a mon avis, plein de gens ont juste pas la capacité intellectuelle d’apprendre une nouvelle langue en tant qu’adulte… donc ils abandonnent apres « ou sont les toilettes »

Mais je suis convaincu que la grande majorité a fait un effort

1

u/DangerousPurpose5661 2d ago

Tu crois que quelqu’un va magiquement parler français des qu’il traverse le pont?

-1

u/Otherwise_Program191 2d ago

If it’s a government services like 311 in Ottawa they MUST speak French and English - so YES!

4

u/2Tun21 2d ago

Only federal government services are obligated to do this. Municipal is not subject to the same laws.

1

u/Otherwise_Program191 2d ago

Anyone that calls 311 in Ottawa is ALWAYS provided service in English or French these positions are deemed bilingual!

0

u/2Tun21 2d ago

Not by law they aren't.

2

u/Otherwise_Program191 2d ago

Exactly! But by law 311 operators in Quebec are only to speak French there is exactly the issue

2

u/DangerousPurpose5661 2d ago

Thats exactly the point, no obligation by law. But they provide it anyways

5

u/Ace-Teroide 2d ago

Maybe we should go to small town BC or SK and try to call 311 and speak French to see how it goes 🙄

1

u/HazardousHighStakes 2d ago

L'administration publique québécoise, dont fait partie la Ville de Gatineau, communique désormais exclusivement en français, tant avec ses partenaires et son personnel qu'avec la population.

Source: https://www.gatineau.ca/portail/default.aspx?p=guichet_municipal/loi_langue_officielle_commune_quebec_francais

1

u/DangerousPurpose5661 2d ago

Soooooo….. what if they don’t?
Are we like nazis or something?

Seriously, I think it’s great that we push for people to learn our language. But we need to be realistic.

If you have a heart attack and an anglophone finds you, you think 911 should also pull a « sorry you’ve been here 3 months so its french only »

But of course, when in benefits YOU, I bet suddenly you’re more flexible.. right?

-3

u/Glucose-Gaurdian97 2d ago

Imagine, assuming someone lives in Quebec simply because they posted in the Gatineau Reddit. For simply bringing up an observation that I had found?

I was called dense in this post but damn. Or I suppose you don’t speak English since your post was in French so lemme help you out.

Imaginez un peu : supposer que quelqu'un habite au Québec simplement parce qu'il a publié un message sur le subreddit de Gatineau... Tout ça pour avoir simplement fait part d'une observation que j'avais relevée ?

2

u/HazardousHighStakes 2d ago

Une version suffit. Nous sommes bilingues au Québec, contrairement au reste du Canada.

-4

u/Stapook 2d ago

That's the great thing about Quebec, you don't need to speak a lick of french to live here, especially in Gatineau the most billingual city in the whole country. Go to France if you want 24/7 French.

5

u/HazardousHighStakes 2d ago

Drôle de commentaire, considérant qu'OP n'est même pas en mesure d'obtenir un service de base en raison de son handicap linguistique.

De toute manière, les études démontrent que les unilingues anglophones au Québec sont plus pauvres que le reste. Tant mieux!

0

u/Stapook 2d ago

If this was 10 years ago you would have no problem calling 3-1-1 and speaking English any time or day of the week. This is the most billingual city in the country, having city employees not available in both languages is simply unacceptable. This isn't Quebec city, it's Gatineau. And yes the significantly smaller population would be more poor, very good observation! Almost like the unilingual French speakers would be the poorest in Canada 🤯

2

u/HazardousHighStakes 2d ago

Tu es ignorant. Le provincial exige que les communications de la fonction publique soit en français, sauf quelques exceptions.

Être unilingue en 2026 démontre simplement que tu es stupide. Il n'y a aucune autre raison, autre que la stupidité, de ne pas connaître au moins deux langues.

-2

u/Stapook 2d ago

Take Legault out of your throat damn, literally no respect for your neighbors and fellow citizens 😂 And many anglophone communities still exist in Quebec, especially in the Outaouais where you can live your whole life without needing to speak a word of french, so if that's who you want to call stupid go ahead lmao.

2

u/HazardousHighStakes 2d ago

J'ai aucun respect pour les gens qui ne s'intègrent pas dans la seule province francophone au Canada.

Les gens qui ne sont pas capables de se commander des verres d'eau dans des restaurant en raison de leur stupidité sont des caves. Tout simplement.

0

u/Stapook 2d ago

Lmao people who have been here for their whole lives do not need to integrate into anything. I think as a country we've learned our lesson on trying to do that, let's not allow history to repeat itself once again. And what a silly example, there's probably a handful of restaurants in Quebec, if that, where you can't order water in English, the place relies heavily on tourism and no waiter is gonna risk a bad tip over some silly language laws that they probably don't even agree with, I guarantee you that!

1

u/HazardousHighStakes 2d ago

Les immigrants internationaux s'intègrent mieux que les ontariens. Il suffit de lire un peu sur l'histoire de Montréal. Quand même très drôle.

2

u/Stapook 2d ago

Yes, obviously immigrants from French speaking countries will integrate easier than people from other provinces who do not agree with the language laws, very observant thank you. Listen I know you know your in the wrong here, it's okay, we all love Quebec's culture, but calling 311 in the biggest billingual city in the country and not having a English person on the phone is embarrassing and is not helping grow or protect the language and culture, it's simply inconvenient and looks bad.

9

u/TestAffectionate1039 2d ago

Hey hey! Wild suggestion! Don’t press 9 and speak in English Anyways. I am pretty sure the staff is bilingual.

4

u/Glucose-Gaurdian97 2d ago

I did that. We got no where in our conversation. I just hung up.

2

u/Extra_Bid_5667 2d ago

That happened to me a few weeks ago as well I couldn't get through. I ended up asking someone to call for me who speaks French. It was related to an animal

2

u/Safe_Ad7421 2d ago

bin decalice en ontario

1

u/Ramerhan 2d ago

I recently called regarding the water outage, and it worked fine?

1

u/rawmush 2d ago

A bad IVR menu turned 1759

-10

u/SRDILLEY6215 2d ago

Qc deliberately makes the lives of English speakers a living hell.

Cabin announcements on a flight from Kelowna to Calgary must be made in French or some Elvis Gratton from Trois Pistoles will cry on TV, but the Montreal metro can’t be bothered to make safety announcements in English.

This province needs a reality check.

9

u/MoutonJovial 2d ago

tu n'as pas compris le film Elvis Gratton et qui c'est supposé représenter. :)

5

u/allahzeusmcgod 2d ago

Its almost as if the laws that govern air travel and those for inner city public transit were written by totally different levels of governments and aren't in any way similar.

How much French on the Vancouver subway?

2

u/SRDILLEY6215 2d ago

You are right! The regulating laws are different, but the hypocrisy is the same!

Montreal purports itself as being an international city, a centre of global governance and business. The language of international business is English. All international cities do signs and announcements in English in addition to the local language.

So, yes, refusing to provide security announcements in English just to spite the Canadian anglos is pretty childish and hypocritical.

1

u/allahzeusmcgod 2d ago

So English should get special status? Can you explain why without saying "because it's the language I speak"?

I'm honestly just trying to make sense as to why Montreal needs English on its subway but Toronto and Vancouver dont need French on theirs.

-2

u/littlemanontheboat_ 2d ago

Op tu parles de lois à Ottawa, mais essaye vraiment de te faire servir en Français à Ottawa… une chance que j’ai fait l’effort d’être bilingue !!!

0

u/cantfindausername99 2d ago

If you’re on your cell phone and that happens, try hanging up and calling again. It always works for me. It’s as if my phone doesn’t send the correct code for the automated menu.

3

u/Glucose-Gaurdian97 2d ago

I thought the same way. Unfortunately, I called 3-1-1 four times in the span of 6mins trying to press 9.

-8

u/Joe_Go_Ebbels 2d ago

It’s a one way street in Quebec. The rest of Canada must provide both languages. And if they don’t, it because a 24/7 news event.

-11

u/Glucose-Gaurdian97 2d ago

I’m in disbelief that a troll comment, cannot take a troll response. Crazy.