BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1510 West

How the Town of Ste. Anne de Bellevue communicates with its English-speaking residents is about to change as it implements the requirements outlined in Quebec’s Bill 96.

But a directive approved by the town council Monday evening aims to maintain as much English in the small town as possible.

“We have to recognize the needs of our citizens and respect the law,” said Mayor Paola Hawa in an interview with The 1510 West on Monday.

Ste. Anne is the only West Island demerged suburb that does not have bilingual status. This means it must adhere to all the rules outlined in Bill 96, the Act respecting French, the official and common language of Quebec.

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 if they adopt a specific directive. And that is what Ste. Anne council did Monday evening.

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

The directive lists specific instances when the town can disseminate information in English, as permitted under Bill 96. These areas include in emergencies, in situations involving public safety, fire prevention, crime prevention, extreme weather events, to ensure that bylaws are accurately interpreted and issues touching on tourism.

The directive also includes communication to residents directly from the mayor.

“We recognize that French is the common language of Quebec, and that it is a cultural asset that sets us apart in the Americas,” Hawa said in a statement. “Considering the unique context of Ste. Anne de Bellevue and recognizing the significant historical contribution of English-speaking culture to our community’s development, we are committed to integrating the provisions of the law in a spirit of harmony and with respect for all our citizens.”

Council’s approval of the directive is a key move. Without it, a unilingual 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.

Among the changes Ste. Anne will have no choice to make, however, is removing all English information that does not fall into the exemptions from its website. That means the “English” button at the top of its website, which opens an index of information available in English on the site, will disappear. To compensate, Ste. Anne last month began to update its online portal to incorporate an artificial intelligence function that will offer automated translation.

Ste. Anne will also have to ensure all official communication from the town outside of the exceptions outlined in the directive is in French only. That includes all written and oral communications.

That means when a resident asks a question in English at a public council meeting, the question will have to be translated into French, and then the response must be given in French. The mayor, however, will be able also provide an oral English translation of the answer.

Hawa will also begin issuing what she described as “messages from the mayor,” which fall under the exceptions outlined in the directive approved Monday. These communications can be issued in both French and English. They will be provided more frequently now in an effort to keep everyone well informed, Hawa said Monday.

Bilingual municipalities retain the right to communicate in writing in both French and English with their residents and maintain English on their websites along with French.

Ste. Anne, which has a population of 5,027, according to the 2021 Census, has never had bilingual status, which can only be claimed by municipalities where English-speaking residents account for more than 50 per cent of the population. According to the last Census, only 42.6 per cent of Ste. Anne residents claimed English as their mother tongue.

In the West Island, the demerged municipalities of Baie d’Urfé, Beaconsfield, Dollard des Ormeaux, Doval, Kirkland, Pointe Claire and Senneville all have bilingual status.