Speak English or Go Home?

A few weeks ago I was on the train on my way to work looking to kill time (Its a 40 min trip and I had forgot my book/iPod that day) and I had reached down beside me and grabbed what I had thought was the Calgary Metro paper. It wasn't. It was this paper I haven't seen before- called the Diaryo Filipino. I figured why not? It was something to read and I couldn't find a Metro in sight.

I started to read this one article called 'Speak English or Go Home! This is Canada!' The author a Mr Lee Chan, went on about how this man on the train got every angry at two people that where on the C-Train and they were having a conversation in their native language. The man got up and said.. 'You should speak English, you're in Canada. Go home.' Then walked off the train. Mr Chan then said this is a hate crime, which yes I agree that it is.

I have one small problem with this. Don't get me wrong I am not a racist at all period. But when you get on a train and all you want is a quiet trip home from work and all you hear is two or three people (some times more) all talking (yelling more like it) at each other. Those days, I really want to say something to them but my mum always taught me ' If you can't say something nice... don't say nothing at all.'

The other day I was on the train going home and I ran into a friend and we were catching up and the next seat over there was these two young ladies that were talking away and looking at me. I looked down trying to see if I had spilled my tea all over me or if I had something on me. I didn't and I just brushed it off and went back to my conversation. My friend got off and then the one girl got off awhile later and then the one came up to me and asked me about my poppy that I was wearing. I would have told them earlier about it, but because they sat there and talked about me I was a little hesitant about saying something (goes back to my low self confidence -what else did they say about me kinda thing)

Is it wrong for us to expect people who move here to learn our language? Or no? What are your thoughts on this? I think it is only fair because whenever we go to another country we are expected to.

**NOTE** As said before I am not racist in anyway at all.