Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

The Quebec government’s recent initiatives aimed at reinforcing French as the sole “official and common language” in the province have brought changes for municipalities in the Quebec City area that have historically had a significant anglophone presence.

Since the passage of An act respecting French, the official and common language of Quebec (better known as Bill 96) in May 2022, only officially bilingual municipalities – municipalities whose population was more than 50 per cent English-speaking at the time of the passage of the Charter of the French Language in 1977 and who have recently passed a resolution to maintain their bilingual status – can make all of their communications available in English. Other municipalities can communicate in English only “when the principles of health, safety or natural justice require it;” in correspondence with people who have English public school eligibility certificates or have corresponded in English only with the city since May 2021 or before; or in correspondence with immigrants who have been in Quebec less than six months. The law also affects what information on cities’ public-facing websites can be translated.

Despite historic ties with English-speaking communities, neither Shannon nor Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier are officially bilingual, meaning both will be forced to rethink their communication strategies in the coming months and years.

In Shannon, about 10 per cent of the population identifies English as their first official language spoken, although reminders of the community’s Irish heritage are everywhere, from street names (Dublin, Cork, Wexford) to the annual English-language Shannon Irish Show to the bright Shannon Forever sign at the entrance to the municipality. That sign will soon be a thing of the past, according to Marie-France Lambert, communications agent for the Ville de Shannon.

“The sign at the entrance to the city (at the corner of rue Saint-Patrick) will be changed for a new one, only in French, in connection with the preparation of the brand- new 75th anniversary space of the municipality which will be inaugurated at a later date,” Lambert told the QCT in an email. “The city has also started to modify the logo on our various platforms and vehicles for a logo which only includes an inscription in French, in order to comply with the requirements of Bill 96.” Lambert would not comment on the law’s other potential ripple effects, and Shannon Mayor Sarah Perreault was not available for an interview.

In nearby Saint-Gabriel- de-Valcartier, 225 people – about seven per cent of the town’s population – identified English as their first official language spoken on the 2021 census. “[The law] is certainly concerning to us, and a lot of municipalities are question- ing how it will be applied,” Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier mayor Brent Montgomery told the QCT earlier this year. “We have a sizable proportion of our population [for whom] it’s easier to communicate in English – certainly some seniors. For younger people, it tends to be less of a problem.

“It’s important that everyone is able to communicate with the municipality in a language they understand,” he added. “We are all for the prevalence of French, but that can be done without taking [English services] away from people who have had them their entire lives.”

In Quebec City, just over 10,000 people among the estimated population of 542,435 identified English as their first official language spoken, including 2,150 who said they spoke only English. “To comply with [Bill] 96, in force since June 1, 2023, all written or oral communication from the Ville de Québec must be exclusively in French. However, in certain situations, the city can communicate in English with its citizens: when public health or safety requires it [or] when providing services to people eligible to receive instruction in English, Indigenous people, immigrants … during the first six months of their arrival in Quebec, individuals who corresponded only in English with the city before May 13, 2021 [or] people who receive services outside Quebec.” Lavoie said city officials will not ask residents for proof of eligibility before providing services in English to those who request them. “The city relies on the good faith of citizens to comply with this law,” he said.