A City of Montreal committee is recommending the creation of a municipal office for the French language to gain a detailed understanding of the linguistic makeup of its boroughs.
The new office would be overseen by the Montreal French-language commissioner — a role currently occupied by Noémie Dansereau-Lavoie.
Complementing data collected by the Office québécois de la langue française is part of eight recommendations submitted Wednesday by the nine-member volunteer committee led by former Parti Québécois MNA Louise Harel.
Created in February 2022, the committee is mandated to advise and support the city in implementing its 2021-2024 French Language Preservation action plan.
Its recommendations aim to highlight Montreal as the francophone capital of North America by developing partnerships with cultural organizations and promoting French in all spheres of city activities.
At a news conference Wednesday, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said the city will be assessing how to put the recommendations into action. But she said the changes would neither threaten citizens’ access to services in their language, nor impact how cultural communities hold festivals to celebrate their heritage.
“It’s not about asking the Argentinian festival to now sing in French — that’s not the point,” Plante said. “We’re a cosmopolitan city. We’re proud of that.”
Promoting French among newcomers
Another element of the committee’s report involves promoting French among newcomers, including international students.
It describes organizing a welcoming event in the city at the start of the school year for international and out-of-province students in support of the Parcours FrancoVille event launched last year.
The committee recommends that Montreal work with cultural groups to offer people who recently arrived in the city a “passport” to French culture, which would give them access to shows and exhibitions in French for free or at a discount.
It also suggests inviting students of French-language classes to visit municipal buildings and show them benefits like the Accès Montréal program, Maisons de la culture and the city’s recreational facilities.