Ottawa doesn’t need to be made officially bilingual: mayor
Posted Sep 29, 2016 05:27:50 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – Mayor Jim Watson says Ottawa doesn’t need to be made officially bilingual because it already has “pragmatic bilingualism.”
A francophone group called Bilingual Ottawa that’s pushing for the change has released a survey that found 54 per cent of respondents support Ottawa becoming officially bilingual and 13 per cent “somewhat support the idea.”
The group wants to tweak both the provincial city of Ottawa Act and the city’s bilingualism bylaw next year when Canada celebrates its 150th birthday.
However, Watson says Ottawa is already bilingual and doesn’t need another level of government policing language in the city.
“Why do we have to go amend bylaws and propose laws when in fact, they’re be no change?” Watson said. “We have a system in place here that has served the francophone community very well.”
Watson says, in his opinion, the group is pursuing an issue that is not a problem.
Related:
Liberal MP Denis Paradis wants Ottawa bilingual
