Mayor says council will publicly debate new language policy before it's adopted

A1

By Jesse Robichaud
Times & Transcript Staff

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

35 Comment(s)

Dieppe Mayor Jean LeBlanc says he is proud of how his council and staff have handled the French signage issue in the world's largest Acadian city.

Despite mounting pressure to push through a linguistic signage policy, including petitions and outspoken critics, LeBlanc said council and staff have been working to get the regulatory package right.

"Yes there has been pressure, but everybody realizes how important this is and we are best to get it right, rather than have it done expediently," said LeBlanc, noting that staff has been studying policies in other municipalities to determine what would work best in Dieppe.

"That is why I am so proud of council and so proud of staff."

The mayor said the council is only weeks away from debating and likely adopting a new language policy with respect to signage in the city. He said the issue should take centre stage in council's chamber by late November.

But he said it is crucial that the proper due diligence is done and that the new measures are studied from every possible vantage point before unveiling any details.

In addition, he said it is important that the policy is properly communicated to avoid sparking any unfounded controversy that might jeopardize the work that has been done.

"Anytime you aren't totally clear, there is always room for misunderstanding, and we want to completely avoid misunderstandings," he said.

"Council is proud of our business community, we want to help them, we want to make this a dynamic and booming business environment."

These reasons explain why LeBlanc was so upset by what he called a self-serving motion introduced by Councillor Jean Gaudet at last week's council meeting.

LeBlanc said it would be preposterous for anyone to think he publicly criticized Gaudet for going too far to promote French in an officially French-speaking city.

"He did not get a dressing down at council because he wanted to promote French," said Gaudet.

"We are a city that qualifies itself as a Francophone city that offers services in both official languages," said LeBlanc.

He said Gaudet didn't have the interests of the community at heart when he introduced an improvised motion that sought to embarrass council by asking them to pronounce themselves on an issue before the proper background work had been completed.

"There was no community interest there, there was no council interest there, and the only interest that could be served here is a self-serving interest," said LeBlanc.

LeBlanc suggested Gaudet consider resigning from his position as president of the city's Comité de la promotion du francais et de la patrimoine, and he didn't back away from that statement in an interview with the Times & Transcript. He said Gaudet used his position, and a meeting at which the quorum was not met, as a platform to introduce a motion that would direct the mayor to send a letter to businesses that would ask owners and managers to respect French as the language of majority.

The motion was unexpected by other councillors, and LeBlanc said it is unheard of for sub-committees to order mayors to take specific actions.

Another motion was passed to table Gaudet's motion for further consideration, a move which ended the debate for the evening.

LeBlanc said he could see no constructive reason for Gaudet to try to step out ahead of the council's long-awaited language policy with regards to signage.

"Whatever actions councils propose or adopt have to be well thought out, we have to weigh their effects, we have to make sure whatever actions they propose will have to be well communicated at the time they are made so there is no confusion on what is being proposed," said LeBlanc.

"Dieppe takes its responsibilities as the Acadian urban centre seriously, and we are working towards that and we are hoping to have something for council to consider very soon."

LeBlanc said the city staff has looked at municipalities where signage policies have sparked sensational and detrimental controversy in order to avoid similar results.

"I can tell you that Dieppe city council and staff are certainly dedicated to ensure that the landscape and signage of Dieppe reflects the makeup of our community," he said.

"The promotion of French in our municipality is something we take seriously."