There may be French and English advertisements on OC Transpo buses, and you may be greeted with both a “hello” and a “bonjour” in government offices, but local group Bilingual Ottawa is pushing for more formal recognition of bilingualism in Ottawa.
According to a Nanos Research poll from July, 76 per cent of people between the ages of 18-29 are most likely to support Ottawa becoming bilingual, compared to the 67 per cent overall average.
Lucien Bradet, a member of Bilingual Ottawa, said the proposed changes for the city to become officially bilingual are “so small, people think it’s big.”
The group is urging city councillors to apply to the province to amend the City of Ottawa act, giving French and English equal status and declaring the city bilingual, according to Bradet. Ottawa is currently considered bilingual only in municipal legislation, which can only be changed by city councillors.
“It could be changed on a whim in budget cuts, affecting those services,” Bradet said.
To further the proposal, the group is meeting with city councillors and asking local institutions for support.
While the group hasn’t yet approached Carleton University to ask for their support, the University of Ottawa (U of O) announced in a press release its support for the proposal, which was voted on by its board, citing the university’s mission “to further bilingualism and biculturalism and to preserve and develop French culture in Ontario.”
La Cité Collégiale has also voiced its support, according to Bradet.
Carleton media officer Christopher Cline said the university’s “students, faculty and staff benefit from the bilingual character of the Ottawa region.” However, he said, Carleton has “no plans at this time to officially become a bilingual university.”
Mathieu Fleury, the Rideau-Vanier city councillor, has been in contact with Bilingual Ottawa and supports their proposal for the city, but said he’ll only bring the proposal forward once 17 of the 24 councillors already support it.
“I don’t want it to be a divisive issue,” Fleury said.
As of this week, Bilingual Ottawa still has about seven councillors to meet with, and Fleury said “there’s more convincing to do.”
Some of the opposition comes from a lack of understanding, according to Fleury.
“There’s certainly confusion,” Fleury said, and added he’s heard from constituents who worry that the proposal will change city services.
Ottawa mayor Jim Watson is one of the councillors who doesn’t support the proposed amendment.
“Mayor Jim Watson holds the position that the City of Ottawa is in fact bilingual, as stated in our bylaws,” an emailed statement from his office said.
However, Fleury said “the policy’s not broken—let’s not wait for it to become broken.”
The bilingual proposal doesn’t aim to change the city’s budget or services, or make it harder for anglophones to find jobs, Bradet said. Its goal is to protect the bilingual services that already exist.
“There’s a lot of [symbolism] in what we’re asking, but at the same time it’s the security and the safety of the future generation,” Bradet said.
He said he doesn’t see the proposal changing much for Ottawa’s universities, except for attracting more francophone students.
Marine Margoulette and Justine Bouzoun, administrators of Carleton’s Francophone Club, said they were both surprised to learn that, by some standards, Ottawa isn’t officially bilingual.
“For a country that’s officially bilingual, the capital should be officially bilingual,” Bouzoun said in French—an argument echoed by Bilingual Ottawa.
Margoulette and Bouzoun said they both came to Carleton this year from France to work in the French department. Neither said they could see an amendment meaning any big changes for Carleton, which would remain anglophone
“People who are interested in French would go to [U of O],” Margoulette said in French, “But it would make Ottawa a more attractive city for Francophone students.”
