BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1510 West

The Town of Ste. Anne de Bellevue issued an apology last week after failing to distribute an English version of its municipal bulletin. The move was prompted after complaints piled up on social media in the wake of the municipality’s pledge earlier this spring that it would continue to maintain some communication in English despite having to adhere to stricter controls on languages other than French as provision of Quebec’s latest language law come into force.

Ste. Anne Mayor Paola Hawa said complainants were “raking” her “over the coals” after the monthly bulletin was distributed door to door in French only.

In March, Ste. Anne municipal council adopted a directive aimed at maintaining as much English communication as possible in the small town despite being the only West Island demerged suburb that does not have bilingual status.

The directive outlines a clear framework for town staff as to when and how they can use English and lists specific instances when the town can disseminate information in English, as permitted under Bill 96. These instances includes emergencies, situations involving public safety, fire prevention, crime prevention, extreme weather events, to ensure bylaws are accurately interpreted, issues touching on tourism and communication to residents directly from the mayor.

The mayor’s communication in the latest monthly bulletin was available in English, Hawa said, but was not included in the dispatch that was distributed door to door. That was a mistake due to “a logistical error and goes against our commitment to ensure a simultaneous dissemination of municipal council communications,” the apology stated.

“Our good intentions blew up in our face,” said Hawa in an interview earlier this week, referring to the error attributed to a town employee.

“The next one will go out in both languages – absolutely,” Hawa added.

Under the implementation guidelines of Bill 96, adopted by the provincial legislature in 2023 that aims to strengthened Quebec’s French Language Charter, all unilingual municipalities have until September of this year to comply. But there are a few exceptions unilingual towns can avail themselves of by adopting a specific directive like Ste. Anne council did in March.

“According to the law …. municipal councils may in some cases address their citizens in both languages,” the town stated in its apology. “Recognizing the historical contribution of the English-speaking community to the development of our city, Ste. Anne de Bellevue has always been committed to respecting this provision and reflecting the unique linguistic character of the community,” it continued in explaining its intention to communicate with residents in both languages where permitted.

The language flap is a twist to previous examples of how language complaints have flared in Ste. Anne. As recently as last December, an anonymous complainant filed a grievance with the Office québécoise de la langue française after the town used the words “food bank” in a public notice announcing when a campaign to collect food donations would be launched.

Hawa said the town apologized after receiving a reprimand from the OQLF.