Montreal is recommended to create a French Language Office

Photo: Jeanne Corriveau Le Devoir The City of Montreal Committee on the French Language, chaired by Louise Harel, is asking the administration to “position Montreal as THE business gateway to the continent for the economic Francophonie.”

Jeanne Corriveau

Published at 11:52 AM Updated at 4:06 PM

• Montreal

In a report released Wednesday, the City of Montreal Committee on the French Language recommends that the City create a Bureau of the French Language and Francophonie and set an example in the use and promotion of the French language.

Chaired by former Minister Louise Harel, the committee made eight recommendations to Valérie Plante’s administration. In suggesting the establishment of a French Language Office, the committee mentioned the need to “make accessible a portrait of the linguistic situation by borough in order to guide actions” and to appoint people responsible for francization of services and boroughs with a procedure for reporting and handling complaints. The committee also asked the City to “position Montreal as THE business gateway on the continent for the economic Francophonie.”

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“The metropolis has a decisive responsibility,” indicated Louise Harel during the unveiling of the report in the presence of Mayor Plante and Noémie Dansereau-Lavoie, Commissioner of the French Language for the City of Montreal.

Optimism

Regarding criticism of the erosion of French in the metropolis, Louise Harel was optimistic. “My personal diagnosis is that we need to shake off this idea that everything is going badly. Indeed, that is the most widespread feeling, but at the same time, I don’t see where this kind of resignation would lead us,” she explained. “The situation can be reversed if there is a strong, common and permanent will.” »

For her part, Commissioner Noémie Dansereau-Lavoie recalled that the application of the regulation on signage in French was the responsibility of the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF).

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Created in February 2022, the committee's mandate is to advise and support the City in implementing its 2021-2024 Action Plan for the Promotion of the French Language.

In March 2023, the committee had submitted a first report with 12 recommendations to the City, including the addition of the slogan “Francophone Metropolis of the Americas” to the City’s official logo. On this subject, Mayor Plante indicated that her administration was working on ways to deploy this slogan.

He also recommended that the City adopt a “cross-cutting approach” to promoting the French language in all administrative bodies, because he felt that the promotion of the French language was not sufficiently reflected in the City’s policies and action plans. He also suggested that a “highly visible” location be named in honor of Camille Laurin, father of the Charter of the French Language.