More than a year after the reform of the Charter of the French Language came into effect, the City of Montreal admits that its application represents “challenges” on the ground. In fact, citizens who are not part of the historic English-speaking minority can still easily obtain services in English. In the fall, the municipal administration will increase awareness among its officials of the provisions of the new Quebec law, but warns that it does not intend to play “language police” either.
The French language commissioner for the City of Montreal, Noémie Dansereau-Lavoie, says she is instead relying on a “human” approach to enforce Bill 14, which stipulates that French takes precedence in the provision of services to citizens.
“It was important to reaffirm the predominant nature of French. But for it to be a success, it is not enough to say ‘the law is the law’. Of course, the City must comply with the law adopted by Quebec. We must be firm. Diversity and inclusion cannot be used as excuses for not learning French. But we must also not lose sight of the fact that the objective of this law is to encourage people to use French. There is a balance to be found to do it in a humane way,” the commissioner argued in a rare interview with Duty.
Noémie Dansereau-Lavoie was previously an advisor to French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge. She also worked in Minister Steven Guilbeault’s office in Ottawa. The Plante administration appointed her as Commissioner of the French Language in May 2023, one month before the new law came into force.
Bill 14, formerly known as Bill 96, was adopted by the Legault government to reaffirm the status of French as the common language in Quebec. The new law notably limits the provision of public services in English. Quebecers who are part of the historical English-speaking community, which includes those who were able to attend English school, are still entitled to them. Immigrants who have been in Quebec for less than six months are also entitled to them. But after this period, public administration employees, which includes municipalities, must in theory communicate with them in French.
Mme Dansereau-Lavoie notes that Bill 14 has already led the City and the boroughs to change their ways of doing things. “In written communications, there has been a very clear change. Before, if a citizen wrote to the City in English on social media, they would automatically be answered in English. Since the adoption of the new law, we no longer have this reflex: we respond much more in French. The challenge now will be to apply the law in the delivery of services in person. How, in a library, for example, do you respond to someone who speaks English? It is important to support the City employees who are on the front lines of this change,” explains the Commissioner of the French Language. One of her roles is to equip civil servants to help them apply the law on a daily basis.
Language of public space
That said, citizens who wish to obtain services in English do not have to provide proof that they are part of the historical English-speaking community. “It is a law that is based on the good faith of citizens,” summarizes M.me Dansereau-Lavoie, who is not ready to say that this is a symbolic law. She is convinced that it was necessary to reaffirm the French fact in Quebec.
In written communications there has been a very clear change.
The Commissioner is concerned about the situation of French in Montreal, officially the only official language in the metropolis. According to the latest report from the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF), barely 51.2% of people living on the Island of Montreal spoke French primarily at home in 2021: a marked decrease of 2.6 points in five years. The place of French in the public space is, however, rather stable, with 60% of residents of the Island of Montreal saying they mainly use the language of Molière when they are outside their homes. This is roughly the same proportion of people who say they mainly use French in their workplace.
“Montreal is by far the city in Canada with the most trilingual people. Immigrants often speak French, English and their mother tongue. And I think that’s a wealth. The more languages we talk about, the better. Now the challenge is to position French as a common language in a globalized context where it rubs shoulders with several languages. We really have to make it the language of the public space,” emphasizes Noémie Dansereau-Lavoie.