By Trevor Greenway

editor@lowdownonline.com

The mayor of Kazabazua says he’s disappointed with a Superior Court decision to deny a temporary injunction on Bill 96 while bilingual municipalities fight the controversial law in court. 

Kazabazua Mayor Robert Bergeron says that his municipality is one of the 23 bilingual municipalities fighting Bill 96 in court and argues that, while only 41 per cent of Kazabazuans identify English as their mother tongue, that number increases significantly when including cottagers. 

“First of all, we’re a bilingual municipality,” Bergeron told the Low Down. “Second of all, if we look at our population count, permanent residents are 42 or 43 per cent English. However, if we take our lakers, then you’re jumping higher – over 50 per cent, close to 60 per cent of English speakers. [Cottagers] pay more than 60 per cent of our taxes, and we felt that they should have service in their language.”

The latest 2021 Canada census shows that, while Kazabazua has more “mother-tongue French speakers,” more than half of its population – 54.1 per cent – speak English at home, compared to the 51.2 per cent that speak French at home. Bergeron said that maintaining a bilingual municipality helps it thrive, as it’s easier to retain employees and bid for contracts, and it offers more flexibility when working on municipal initiatives. 

“If you look or listen to our municipal council meetings, the minutes are always bilingual,” said Bergeron. “And all of our signage and communications are bilingual.”

In the summer of 2023, a coalition of 23 municipalities joined forces to fight Bill 96 in court, namely five areas of the law, which they argue will bring “serious and irreparable harm” to their municipalities. Those five areas included contracts and communication, the requirement to adopt a resolution to maintain bilingual status, alleged illegal searches and seizures, government grants and the obligation to discipline employees.

According to municipal lawyer Julius Grey, that lawsuit could take years to wind its way through the courts. In the meantime, he requested an injunction from Superior Court Judge Silvana Conte to suspend part of the law while the legal challenge continues. 

Grey asked the judge to suspend four provisions of Bill 96 for the 23 bilingual municipalities pending the outcome of their legal challenge, including:

the provision that requires all municipal contracts to be drafted in French, even when all parties are anglophones;

the provision that allows the province to withhold grants and subsidies to municipalities failing to comply with Bill 96;

the provision that allows inspectors from the Office Québécois de la langue française (OQLF) to conduct searches and seizures of documents without a warrant and without notice;

the provision requiring municipalities to discipline employees who don’t comply with Bill 96.

Grey said the municipalities shouldn’t have to comply with these provisions while waiting for the case to be decided on its merits.

On Oct. 15, Conte denied the request, arguing that the municipalities had not proved serious or irreparable damage. 

“It’s disappointing for sure, but we will just have to find another way of approaching it, but we certainly will keep on trying,” he said.

Communities with bilingual status have the right to serve their citizens in English and French, while municipalities without that status are prohibited from communicating with residents in English.

Chelsea confident about its bilingual service (SUBHED)

Chelsea has bilingual status but didn’t join the coalition to fight the law in court. Mayor Pierre Guénard told the Low Down that he and his council feel they have a good hold on bilingual services, with the municipality holding bilingual meetings, serving residents in both languages and translating minutes and documents into English. 

According to the 2021 census, Chelsea’s demographic data shows that 46.4 per cent of residents have a mother tongue of French, compared to 43.1 English. Despite the slight prevalence of French speakers, Chelsea still has bilingual status and intends to keep it that way, according to Guénard.

“My two kids now are fully bilingual. Why? Because they grew up in Chelsea,” said Guénard. “For the Chelsea council, it was always important to ask the province to keep the bilingual status and to keep serving the population in both languages.”

The province’s OQLF made two visits to Chelsea in the past year: once after a complaint about signage at the Meredith Centre and another at the Nearly New thrift shop.