Municipalities across Quebec vow to keep bilingual status

The town of Otterburn Park on Montreal’s south shore is a sleepy bedroom community with lots of houses and green spaces, but not many Anglophones.

Of the 8,400 residents, only 7.2  per cent are considered Anglos. Despite the paltry number of historically English-speaking people living there, the town plans on tabling a resolution at its council meeting this week, retaining its right to bilingual status, and to offer services in English.

In a statement, Mayor Melanie Villeneuve told Global News, “It is important to me that the City be able to offer quality service to all its citizens, particularly to potentially vulnerable groups of people.

“Our English-speaking population is overrepresented among seniors, especially senior women living alone.”

Last December, the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) sent notices to 47 municipalities across the province, informing the towns they would lose their official bilingual status within 120 days, as their Anglophone populations were below 50 per cent.

It comes after the government passed Bill 96, strengthening elements of Bill 101. However, the law has a loophole, where towns can retain their status, if they pass a resolution affirming their bilingual status.

Last week, the Longueuil borough of Greenfield Park passed a resolution to protect its 26 per cent English population.

“It was a question too because the Anglophone community, they are really involved in our organizations, community, social, sports, so this is a question of the respect of the heritage,” said Borough mayor Sylvain Joly.

“They’ve been here since 1911.”

Côte Saint-Luc was one of the first municipalities to pass a resolution, doing it soon after receiving the OQLF letter last December. Mayor Mitchell Brownstein said the borough is now actively encouraging the other 46 towns to get their paperwork done and get their resolutions passed before the spring deadline.

3:24 Eric Girard interview: Quebec’s Minister Responsible for Anglophone Relations on his plans for the province’s English speaking community

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• Eric Girard interview, part 2: Quebec’s Minister Responsible for Anglophone Relations on his plans for the English speaking community

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He says it’s frustrating that towns need to do this in the first place, and that the resolution is only valid until the next Census is carried out.

“It is very frustrating.  We should not have to do this. We have bilingual status and we should not have to go and prove each time that we want to keep it,” said Côte Saint-Luc Mayor Mitchell Brownstein.

English rights groups say they expect all 47 towns to protect their bilingual status. The Quebec Community Groups Network says its impressive that even towns with small English populations are fighting to retain the right to service Anglophones in English, sending a clear message to the government.

“I think it’s a testament to these municipalities and the citizens in these municipalities that want to remain open and welcome all citizens on their territory. I think it’s terrific,” said QCGN director general Sylvia Martin-Laforge.

The towns have until April to pass their resolutions.