Bill 96: The City of Châteauguay will no longer communicate in writing in English

In order to comply with Bill 96, which strengthens the status of French as the official and common language of Quebec, the City of Châteauguay will be required to stop offering its citizens publications or communications in English.  

Translation Amanda Bennett

“As such, as of June 1st, when communicating with its citizens in writing, the City of Châteauguay will be required to communicate exclusively in French, with the exception of emergencies where citizens’ health or safety is compromised,” indicated the city via press release.

For example, the English section of the municipality’s website will be removed. As for the activities guide, En mouvement, which was in large part bilingual, henceforth, and as of its February edition, the guide will be exclusively published in French. The same will apply to the city’s publications on its social media, unless it is a message published within the context of an emergency or a public security issue.  

 “It is important to recall that there are accessible online translation tools within Internet browsers to facilitate the translation of French-language content,” the city specified.

No bilingual status

The City of Châteauguay will no longer be able to communicate in English as, in the eyes of the law, it does not have bilingual status. “The law is clear on this issue, setting the threshold for recognition of bilingual status at over 50% of the population,” the city continued. Châteauguay’s English-speaking population is approximately 30%. According to the Statistics Canada data from 2021, 25.1% of Châteauguay’s population declares English as their mother tongue language. This proportion increases to 29.2% if those with more than one mother tongue are included.  

The city is aware that citizens might be surprised by this new method of communicating, given that for several years the city had made a habit of disseminating the majority of its information in both languages.

Oral communications?

As for oral communications, the city will wait for the provincial government to table its language policy as it should provide more details regarding the law’s application,” the city explained.