Arabic speakers change the face of Ottawa

par kabi 06/12/07, 04:43 pm

After English and French, Arabic is the most common language in region

Dave Rogers and Kathryn Young, With Files by Jessey Bird and Michael Wallace, The Ottawa Citizen

Published: Wednesday, December 05, 2007

A wave of immigration from the Middle East has made Arabic the third most common mother tongue in Ottawa-Gatineau after English and French, Statistics Canada reported yesterday.

The 2006 census, which found that one in five Canadians is allophone -- people whose mother tongue is neither French nor English -- counted 30,890 Arabic speakers in Ottawa-Gatineau, compared with 26,105 in 2001. The figures also show 26,890 people in the region speak Chinese, 13,280 speak Spanish and 11,510 speak Italian as their mother tongue.

Allophones are helping to redefine our country, particularly in cities, said John Shields, director of the Ontario Metropolis Centre, which sponsors research on immigration issues.

"It's not Mounties, it's not the Maple Leaf, it's not hockey ... Most people speak about it in a positive vein. In the big cities, you see this very vividly."

The census report reaffirmed the Chinese languages as Canada's third most common mother-tongue group. More than one million people reported their mother tongues as Mandarin, Cantonese, Taiwanese or four other Chinese languages.

Italian remained the fourth largest mother tongue language in Canada, although its numbers declined, while German held onto fifth and Punjabi claimed sixth place with a 34.4-per-cent increase. Spanish, Arabic, Tagalog (from the Philippines) and Portuguese followed.

The most significant increase in allophones was in Quebec, where their numbers expanded by 25 per cent between 2001 and 2006, said Jean-Pierre Corbeil, chief language specialist at Statistics Canada.

In Ottawa, Christopher Assad, the president of the Syrian Association of Canada and a member of the Coalition of Arabic Professional Community Associations, said more Arabic speakers have sought refuge in Canada as war and religious strife makes life increasingly difficult in the Middle East. Ottawa's Arab community has doubled since the first Gulf War in 1991, he said.

However, Mr. Assad said many Arabic-speaking immigrants are also choosing Ottawa because it is the information technology capital of Canada and they feel they can advance their careers here.

"The number of refugees is on the increase because the whole region is in turmoil, but they are still a smaller group than the economic migrants," he said.

"The Syrians in Ottawa during the last 15 years have quadrupled because they are choosing Canada as a safe haven for their money and for the future of their children."

Still, Hamdi Mohamed, director of the Ottawa-Carleton Immigrant Services Organization, said finding employment is frustrating for many immigrants because Canada does not recognize their education credentials or experience.

Louay Jallip, 36, has a graduate degree in biomedical engineering and was in charge of design and maintenance of Syria's hospitals before he came to Ottawa-Gatineau a year ago looking for new experience in his field. This year he is at Algonquin College studying electrical technology.

"I was the manager of electrical development for the Ministry of Health in Syria," Mr. Jallip said. "I was the designer for power generation systems, sterilization units, operating rooms, heating and cooling for nine years

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=0319cfc2-a5f0-435f-98db-ce4099c7a1d6

par thht 06/12/07, 04:58 pm

That right
Yesterday I passed an interview; the guys told me if I want to go at Ottawa they have position available there (because I speak French & Arabic)

good luck

par Invité 06/12/07, 06:10 pm

thht a écrit:That right
Yesterday I passed an interview; the guys told me if I want to go at Ottawa they have position available there (because I speak French & Arabic)

good luck

go ahead man, what are you waiting!!!!!!

par popovich 06/12/07, 06:14 pm

thht a écrit:That right
Yesterday I passed an interview; the guys told me if I want to go at Ottawa they have position available there (because I speak French & Arabic)

good luck

hicham.

par thht 06/12/07, 06:27 pm

If you want we go together brother

par arc00211 06/12/07, 06:50 pm

Bonne chance THHT

par thht 06/12/07, 07:00 pm

thank s abdellah

par Rachel 09/12/07, 10:35 am

Salam,

The Arabic is the third most common mother tongue in Ottawa !! It's good to know that !

That's offer more opportunities for jobs, isn't that ?

I am sure that one day the arabe language will find its respectability, its prestige and its previous rank.

Good luck hicham. Ottawa ? why not ? Smile