By Madeline Kerr

In the face of ever stricter language regulations, Chelsea council says it wants to protect anglophones’ ability to interact with the municipality in English. 

At a meeting on Sept. 16, Chelsea councillors unanimously resolved “to continue to offer services in both languages in the interest of its citizens.” 

A copy of the resolution will be sent to Minister of the French Language, Jean-François Roberge; Minister responsible for the Outaouais region, Mathieu Lacombe; MNA for Gatineau, Robert Bussière; as well as the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais.

The resolution takes aim against a requirement imposed by Bill 96, the province’s law for protecting and promoting French as Quebec’s official language. The law, which passed in 2022, allows exemptions for some municipalities like Chelsea that have been granted official bilingual status. 

According to the resolution passed on Sept. 16, the council has until Dec. 1, 2025, to act if it wants to take advantage of some exemptions – including the ability to interact with certain residents in English. 

At the council meeting, Mayor Pierre Guénard explained that in the future, municipal staff could be required to interact with residents in French unless residents are able to demonstrate that they’ve previously corresponded with the municipality in English. He said this could lead to the municipality being required to maintain a list of which residents it can interact with in English and which can only be interacted with in French. 

He added that it would apply to all municipal services – from asking a question at council meetings to checking out a book from the library. 

In an interview with the Low Down after the meeting, Mayor Guénard stated emphatically: “These rules [regarding language use] are imposed – I’ll say it again, imposed – by the province.…Chelsea is and will remain a bilingual community. Bilingualism is our strength.” 

He added that he intends to “show respect to anglophones in Chelsea. It’s a question of human rights. We have to be able to work with our residents in the language of their choice.”  

At the Sept. 16 meeting, a few Chelsea councillors voiced their strong support for the resolution, including an impassioned Ward 3 Coun. Cybèle Wilson, who said: “As someone raised in a bilingual household by a French Canadian mother and an English Quebecker father, this issue strikes at the very heart of my [core values].” 

Ward 6 Coun. Kimberly Chan said in French that she “can’t understand the government’s vision” and can only imagine the division that a rule like this would impose on the community. 

Ward 2 Coun. Dominic Labrie said that he agrees residents need to be served in the language of their choice, but added that the municipality could consider ways to expand its bilingualism by making council resolutions available in both languages, for example.  

Mayor Guénard told the Low Down that Chelsea’s anglophones and francophones live and work together harmoniously. 

“French, English – we are all Chelsiens,” he said, using the newly chosen name for residents of Chelsea.