[lg policy] New Brunswick: Mayor says council will publicly debate new language policy before it's adopted

[Harold Schiffman]

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

A1By Jesse Robichaud
Times & Transcript Staff

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."

http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/front/article/843395


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