Although it doesn’t go far enough, the proposed City of Greater Sudbury French Services Policy tabled by administration this past week is at least a step in the right direction.
So described L'Association canadienne-française de l'Ontario (ACFO) du grand Sudbury executive director Joanne Gervais.
“In a policy it’s easier to let things lapse than in a bylaw,” she told Sudbury.com, noting a city bylaw would mandate French-language services whereas policies are generally seen as guidelines.
“French-language services in our community should not depend on the good will of the people in place,” she said, crediting recent advancements in French-language services as coming from staff members keen on advocating for their cause.
Gervais’ organization is pushing “to have Francophones be able to live in French in their community,” she said, which covers every aspect of life, including municipal services.
Although she contends the proposed policy doesn’t go far enough, it at least offers some forward momentum.
Last year, ACFO du grand Sudbury published a report by historian Serge Dupuis titled Progress, Resistance and Opportunity: Municipal Bilingualism in Greater Sudbury, which tracks the region’s decades-long backslide away from bilingualism.
Before the 2001 amalgamation formed the City of Greater Sudbury, area municipalities had a collection of French-language services, bylaws and policies, including those mandating which positions and services must be bilingual.
“It brought on a much stronger bilingual culture, as opposed to an English institution in which we offer French-language services,” Gervais said.
Around the time of amalgamation, a French Language Services policy, which Gervais said was intended as a stop-gap measure, was put in place to replace the scattering of existing policies and bylaws.
Then-Ward 2 Coun. Lionel Lalonde is quoted in Dupuis’ paper as, at the time, calling the policy “an excellent starting point” that could “always be amended in the future.”
“While citizens were allowed to address Council or an employee in French, this did not include the right to be understood in the language,” according to Dupuis’ paper, summarizing the 2001 policy.
The policy reads, “Instead of putting the focus on positions requiring bilingual ability, emphasis will be placed on the service area being able to serve a citizen in French.”
This 2001 policy remains in place today, which Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann and Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre flagged last year as requiring an update.
During this week’s city council meeting, a draft replacement policy was tabled, which includes a combination of specific and general language around the city offering French services under four principles:
- Principle 1: We actively offer French services.
- Principle 2: We understand the value of engaging with French-speaking residents.
- Principle 3: We demonstrate responsiveness and progressive change related to French services.
- Principle 4: We actively build the organization’s capacity to serve residents in both of Canada’s official languages.
The new policy updates some of its 23-year-old predecessor’s context, and offers stronger language around the need to provide all communications in both official languages.
“It’s about living your life in French,” city Communications and Community Engagement director Marie Litalien told Sudbury.com after this week’s city council meeting.
The current policy, she added, is “really missing the cultural aspects of it and the customer service aspects, which are really important to residents, based on the first round of survey that went out.”
In the first round of public consultation, 51 per cent of the 243 people who completed an online survey requested French services from the municipality, of whom 38 per cent identified as Francophone, 30 per cent identified as Anglophone and 25 per cent identified as bilingual.
The 2021 census showed that 37 per cent of Greater Sudbury residents are bilingual, and 22 per cent list French as their mother tongue.
Dupuis’ report, commissioned by ACFO du grand Sudbury, advocated for seven strategies for the city to take on:
- Draft a robust bylaw to be overseen by the provincial commissioner
- Permanently expand bilingualism among staff
- Build teams that work in French
- Set a deadline for all department heads to be bilingual
- Expand bilingual signage for businesses
- Create a “Dialogue Sudbury” organization to promote official languages and strengthen social cohesion
- Conduct evaluations and develop a five-year strategic plan
“We would have loved for them to take all the opportunities that we present in that study and plop it into a new policy,” Gervais said, reiterating that the bylaw they’re advocating for would have “more bite and more accountability to it” than a policy.
During this week’s city council meeting, the city’s elected officials unanimously approved a motion for the city to continue pursuing its update of the French Services Policy, which Litalien said will involve another round of public consultation.
A page will be set up soon on the city’s Over To You page where feedback can be provided, which Litalien said will be up for a minimum of four weeks.
Gervais’ advice is for people to weigh in.
“Get involved,” she said. “Do the reading and facilitate from their councilor a stronger policy.”
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
