Wetcoaster Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Speak French or go back to your country was what a female transit worker in Montreal said according to 23 year old Mina Barak a regular commuter who was complaining to a transit worker after an automated machine ate her money and did not issue tickets. Ms Barak claims the woman left her booth put her in a headlock and punched her. A Montreal woman said she wants charges pressed against a public transit worker who she says assaulted her and ordered her to 'go back to your country,' after a disagreement over a faulty automatic metro fare machine. Mina Barak, 23, said she arrived at de la Savane metro station to go to work as usual on Monday morning. She said she wanted to buy two tickets, but the automatic dispensing machine was out of order. "It actually ate my money," she said, adding she then turned to the clerk in the ticket booth to explain, in English, what had happened. She said the clerk told her she could not let her through the turnstile without calling her supervisor first. "It doesn't work like that," Barak said the clerk told her, in French, when Barak persisted in asking her to either let her through the turnstile or check the machine. She said the woman told her to speak French and said, 'Go back to your country.' Barak said that remark left her furious, and she then used a nearby telephone to lodge a complaint. Clerk put her in a headlock, Barak says That's when things turned really ugly. She said she went back to the booth and told the clerk, in broken French, she had laid a complaint. "At that moment, she was knitting — and she was giving me the finger at the same time," Barak said. "I told her, 'I am going to make sure you lose your job for what you said to me.'" She said the clerk dropped her knitting, emerged from booth, put her in a headlock and started to punch her repeatedly. She said three witnesses, other commuters, stepped in to separate the pair. Barak said the Société de transport de Montréal police arrived a few moments later, as she was running upstairs and out of the metro station to call Montreal police. "I said, come right now — because this isn't normal for me to get beat up," Barak said. "It's not OK for her to come out of her booth. Regardless of what I say, regardless of what language I speak." She said she told police the story and said she wanted to press charges, then she was taken by ambulance to the Montreal General Hospital. She said the confrontation left her with a bad headache, but she was otherwise unharmed. "I'm in utter shock," she said. A spokesperson for the STM has confirmed that an altercation took place, but Marianne Rouette said she did not have any information about the cause of the dispute. "The information I have is that there has been an altercation. The reason why is not language," Rouette said. Barak, however, said there is no question as to what happened. "I can't believe it's got to this point, where it comes down that if you speak English, it's [so] threatening," she said. "It's ridiculous." http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2012/10/29/montreal-stm-assault-savane-metro.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Ed Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 In my experience transit workers are generally extremely rude. I know they have a tough job but there needs to be some better training in place, on dealing with the public. And our skytrain workers wanted to carry firearms not long ago right? Yikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armada Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 We get it Quebec, just leave already . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hudson bay rules Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 At work I deal with the general public on an everyday basis and believe me they lie, exaggerate and otherwise make poop up regularly to suit their side. As far as this story is concerned, "no comment." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChenWei91 Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 A large majority of the transit workers in Calgary are very nice people. But I've probably been really lucky these past 4 years... I donno... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyJoeJoeJr. Shabadoo Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 At work I deal with the general public on an everyday basis and believe me they lie, exaggerate and otherwise make poop up regularly to suit their side. As far as this story is concerned, "no comment." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denguin Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 At work I deal with the general public on an everyday basis and believe me they lie, exaggerate and otherwise make poop up regularly to suit their side. As far as this story is concerned, "no comment." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dral Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I have an Anglophone friend who just moved to BC from Quebec... he told me "if your French isn't flawless, you're frak'd. EVERYONE discriminates against anyone who's first language isn't french" Obviously this transit worker is a case above all others, but yeah... we really need to mend the gap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taelin Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I have an Anglophone friend who just moved to BC from Quebec... he told me "if your French isn't flawless, you're frak'd. EVERYONE discriminates against anyone who's first language isn't french" Obviously this transit worker is a case above all others, but yeah... we really need to mend the gap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Common sense Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I have an Anglophone friend who just moved to BC from Quebec... he told me "if your French isn't flawless, you're frak'd. EVERYONE discriminates against anyone who's first language isn't french" Obviously this transit worker is a case above all others, but yeah... we really need to mend the gap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightHawkSniper Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 "Go back to your country" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electro Rock Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 My mother's side of the family is from *France* and immigated to Quebec, but les "pur laine" Quebecois were so hostile and resentful that they ended up moving to B.C. within the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five For Fighting Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 In my experience transit workers are generally extremely rude. I know they have a tough job but there needs to be some better training in place, on dealing with the public. And our skytrain workers wanted to carry firearms not long ago right? Yikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dral Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Considering 75% of the country's populations speaks English more as opposed to French, who really needs to mend the gap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cromeslab Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Those damm visor wearing frenchies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dittohead Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 I lived in Montreal when I was a kid and @ the local convenience store the guy there would only speak English to you if no one else was around otherwise it was French only. Most Frenchies are racist, ignorant and left wing douchebags and the women are hairy as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromotacanucks Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 "Go back to your country" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dittohead Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 "Go back to your country" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucks_dynasty Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Funny how Quebec is always saying that they are being discriminated, but from what I've heard from English-speaking people in Quebec, most people aren't very nice to you unless you speak French. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wetcoaster Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 The girl is of East Indian origin. So she prob meant go back to India. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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