Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

 GASPÉ – The Town of Gaspé will have to comply with Bill 96 in its communications with its citizens, which must be done exclusively in French, except in certain specific cases. 

The new version of the Charter of the French Language requires the Town to end its communications in English since the municipality does not have bilingual status and cannot obtain exceptional status. 

“Gaspé does not have bilingual status. To obtain it, you had to ask for it and have more than 50% of the population who were English, at the time in question,” notes Mayor Daniel Côté. 

In the 1940s and 1950s, half of Gaspé’s citizens were English-speaking. According to the elected official, the proportion of English speakers in Gaspé is now around 13%. 

“Out of respect for the three founding peoples: French, English and Mi’gmaq, we have always made the maximum possible communications in both official languages. As of now, we can no longer communicate in English, except for a few aspects,” notes the mayor. 

“In our linguistic communication policy, we have made it as broad as possible to respect the English-speaking community that partly built this town. Anything that concerns public safety, we will not leave anyone in danger, regardless of their language,” indicates Mr. Côté. 

The Act allows financial and tourist information to be communicated in English as well. There are other elements that have an exceptional status also. 

“We will notify the English-speaking population in the coming weeks, who are used to receiving almost all communications in their language. We will inform them that, unfortunately, we can no longer do so under the law. I know that this will create discontent among the English-speaking population, but we will no longer be able to do what we have been doing for years,” concludes the mayor. 

The public announcement of these government directives provoked several negative reactions on social networks.