By Gordon Lambie
Local Journalism Initiative
The City of Sherbrooke confirmed Wednesday that it has received an official notice from the the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) that the Borough of Lennoxville no longer meets the conditions for maintaining its bilingual status based on the 2021 census data.
According to the notice, which was sent in accordance with the changes to the Charter of the French Language implemented through Bill 96, only 44.5 per cent of the borough’s residents reported English as their first language, whereas bilingual status is granted when more than half of residents claim English as their mother tongue.
In accordance with the new legislation, the municipality can only maintain bilingual status with a population below 50 per cent by passing a resolution indicating their desire to do so within the 120 days following the publication of the notice.
In the press release issued by the city about the notice, a written statement from Mayor Évelyne Beaudin indicates an intention to support such a resolution.
For the full story and more subscribe to The Record
