Looks like the Montreal Transit Corporation doesn't really know whether Bill 101 would allow it to require some workers — like the ones who deal with the public — to speak English.

There were several language incidents in the métro last year where customers were told, verbally or by way of signs that they wouldn't be served in English.

In two cases last October, metro ticket takers put up signs in their windows suggesting they won't serve anyone in English.

In July, a customer says metro workers told him "we don't serve English people" and in June an Impact soccer player was refused service when he spoke English in the metro.

At the time, the STM said its legal department determined it could not force any employee to speak English, but an Access to Information request by The Gazette shows the STM never actually asked for a legal opinion on the matter.

The AMT, which runs the commuter train service, does require some of its employees to speak English — and there is a provision in Bill 101 that allows an employer to require employees to speak a language other than French if the "nature of the duties requires such knowledge".