BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1019 Report

St. Lazare council last week approved a resolution to permit municipal employees to continue using English in some circumstances.

With a deadline marking the expiration of a transition period that would limit how municipal officials can communicate with members of the public in English under the regulations outlined in Quebec’s Bill 96 fast approaching, St. Lazare council voted unanimously to adhere to exceptions provided in the law.

“Nothing will change in the way we operate now,” said St. Lazare Mayor Geneviève Lachance at the Aug. 12 council meeting before the directive was approved, adding that the town’s website will continue to provide some information in English.

Under the implementation guidelines of Bill 96, which updated the province’s French Language Charter, adopted by the provincial legislature in 2022, all municipalities have until Sept. 2 of this year to comply. But there are a few exceptions towns can avail themselves of if they adopt a specific directive.

The Town of Hudson approved a similar resolution earlier this month.

The directive, entitled Directive relative à l’utilisation d’une autre langue que le français, outlines a clear framework for town staff as to when and how they can use English.

Council’s approval of the directive is necessary. Without it, a municipality would not be able to provide a broader range of communication in English to residents after September, when the so-called transition period to the stricter language guidelines outlined in Bill 96 expires.

St. Lazare does not have official bilingual status. Only three municipalities in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region have bilingual status — Hudson, Pincourt and Île Cadieux.