Following the coming into force of Bill 96 on the French language in June 2022, the changes made to sections 29.1 and 29.2 of the Charter of the French Language, among others, compromise the bilingual status of the Town of Pincourt.

"The recognition obtained by your municipality will be withdrawn, by operation of law, after 120 days from the date of receipt of this notice," we read in a letter addressed to the Town's administration by the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) and dated December 12. 

According to the OQLF website, the City of L'Île-Cadieux could also have its status revoked. Note that in Vaudreuil-Soulanges, only the towns of Pincourt, L'Île-Cadieux and Hudson have the status of bilingual towns.

In order for a municipality to qualify as a bilingual city, 50% of its population must have English as their first language.

According to documents sent to the municipal administration, 40.1% of Pincourt residents and 25% of L'Île-Cadieux citizens declared that their first language was English. This data, it is said, was taken from the most recent census conducted by Statistics Canada.

"We would be well above the 50% threshold if we were to report on the language spoken at home, since our population includes nearly 15% of allophones who speak English as a second language," explains Charlotte Gagné, Director of Legal Services, Clerk's Office and Communications for the Town of Pincourt.

In order to maintain its status, a Town must have its municipal council adopt a resolution to this effect and notify the OQLF within 120 days.

"In order to maintain the well-being of our citizens and to ensure a superior quality of services to all our residents, regardless of their mother tongue, we are obviously invested in passing a resolution to maintain our bilingual status in the Town of Pincourt," said Ms. Gagné, who added that the issue will be discussed at the next Council meeting scheduled for January 10.

At the time of writing, the position of the Municipality of L'Île-Cadieux in this matter could not be confirmed. Council will meet on January 17.

"This status is dear to us and we intend to take all the necessary steps to keep it," concluded Charlotte Gagné.