Official Bilingualism Has Its Costs--and Opportunities

Since the inception of Canada's Official Languages Act in 1968, official bilingualism is estimated to have cost Canadians approximately $60 billion. Today, the cost of translating federal government documents and operating various programs, such as French language training for federal public servants, is estimated to be some $4 billion annually. And these figures do not take into account the cost of publishing bilingual documents and providing bilingual services at the provincial and municipal levels, or similar costs incurred by private enterprises. While these statistics periodically provoke intense debate in Canada on whether this is money well spent, the fact is that this country's bilingualism requirements have been a boon to at least one group of people employed in the communications field: French-language translators.

Zvalo, Peter. Writer's Block (2002). Articles>Language>Localization>Canada