The president of a major civil servant's union says she does not believe Anglophones have trouble getting served in English when they deal with the Quebec government.

Jacques-Cartier MNA Geoff Kelley told her that people in his riding often turn to him when they have trouble finding someone to explain their tax returns. "It's not always easy," he says.

Lucie Martineau raised her voice in shock. "You've made me fall off my seat," she said. The head of the SFPQ says that's hard to believe.

"I've never gotten a complaint from someone who couldn't get service in English. Quite the opposite," she says. She argued that if that were true, why are so many of her members asking for bonuses for working in both languages?

"If you can find a case of someone who was not served in English in a ministry or organization, I'll give you my card. Send me that," she told Kelley.

Too much bilingualism

Martineau, for her part, told the committee studying bill 14 that too many English services were on offer through the Quebec government.

She said people are not first asked whether they are members of Quebec's historic English community when they are given those services.

And, she said civil servants need to know when they can refuse to speak to someone in English.

Kelly told her he thinks she should nuance her words. "To speak of a shameful bilingualism...often it's just giving services to citizens of my riding, who are citizens. Who are taxpayers."

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