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Respecting the Charter of the

French language

C o m m u n i c a t i o n s D e p a r t m e n t

2 7 / 1 1 / 2 0 1 2

General guidelines

On a day-to-day basis

Document intended for the media


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Respecting the Charter of the French language 2012

Media Page 2

Foreword

Following a complaint filed with the Office qubcois de la langue franaise at the beginning of 2012 and

other requests made by the OQLF over the years, Council has agreed to implement corrective actions to

make the municipal administration compliant with the Charter of the French language.

On December 10,2012, the Town will begin progressively meeting its obligations under the Charter after

almost 20 years of bilingualism. Ville de Saint-Lazare is an officially unilingual French-speaking town and

priority must be given to the French language in all its activities.

Ville de Saint-Lazare is a Qubec public administration and because of its many activities, the size of its staff

and its purchasing power, it must set an example in the affirmation of the primacy of French and meet theobligations imposed by the Charter of the French language.

This document is intended to provide general rules for the application of the Charter.


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Media Page 3

Schedule for the progressive return to the predominant use ofFrench

2012

Tuesday December 4 Adoption of the resolution for the implementation of the Towns corrective actions to meet its obligationsunder the Charter of the French language

Wednesday December 5 The Town will issue a bilingual announcement/newsletter on the return to French and the availability of

information in English.

Monday December 10 All documents will be sent or produced as shown in the Communication with Residents chart

EXCEPT FOR

the March issue of Liaisons

the summer issue of the Residents Guide

the property tax bill

2013

Mid-February

[A]. Last bilingual issues of the Residents Guide and Liaisons

1.

The cover page of Liaisons will address the topic;2. the Town will inform residents that, beginning in June, these publications will be sent by mail in

French only;

3. information will be provided on their availability on the website and on paper in the following

locations beginning in June 2013:

a. Town Hall

b. Community Centre

c. Professional Complex.

[B]. Last bilingual property tax bills

1. The tax bill will be sent out with a note informing residents that the subsequent tax bills will be

sent in French only and that the bilingual form will be available on the Towns website:

a. the complementary tax bill

b. the real estate transfer tax bill

c. receipts

d.

payment in cashe. reminders

f. the 2014 annual tax bill

March Employees will apply all guidelines.

One year to adjust

2014 Transition completed

Communications with Qubec businessesEstablished in Qubec

In French only

ATTENTION:Invitations to a press conference

Press kits (content)

In French ONLY

Newspapers are businesses established in Qubec.

However, journalists will have access to the English version of the press releases on the Towns website.


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Media Page 4

Communications with residentsIn French and in English on a different media

In person

By phoneAt the counter

Personal greeting message

vocal

Acknowledgements

Automated absence message

Greeting in French

May speak EnglishIn French only

In French only

Including the following automated

messages of acknowledgement:

website, e-mails,

on-line requests, etc.

Municipal publications, forms and public notices

(anonymous*)

8 pages or less Over 8 pages or of high interest

Ex.: door hangers, forms, tree cutting, emptying of

septic tanks, public notices, pens, offence notices,

banners etc.

General rule:

Printed in French only

English version: accessible from the French

document on the Towns website

Canada Post: in French only

Location:

o none

Note on the French document

The English translation is accessible from the

original French document on the Towns website.

* exception: this includes the tax bill even if

personalised.

Ex.: Liaisons, Residents Guide, waste collection calendar, day

camps, specialised camps, school break, etc.

General rule:

Printed in French

English version: separate printing of half the number of

copies

Canada Post: in French only

Locations:

o Community Centre

o Town Hall

o Professional Complex

o Municipal garage (waste collection schedule only)

Note on the French document:

The English translation is accessible from the original

French document on the Towns website and a printed

version is available at the following drop-off locations:

Town Hall (1960 Chemin Sainte-Anglique), Community

Centre (1301 Rue du Bois), Professional Complex (1967

Chemin Sainte-Anglique).

documents of high interest or those that, because of their

inaccessibility or unavailability in paper format, are likely to

generate a high volume of requests for information and

increase the staffs workload


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Media Page 5

Communications with residents (continued)In French and in English on a different media

Electronic media

and social media

(anonymous mailings)

Daily conversations and

electronic communicationOfficial correspondence

Ex.:announcements, newsletters,

invitations to residents, highlights

General rule:

Sent in French only

English version: available only

on the Towns website Note on the French document

(with the exception of a

Facebook status)

The English translation is

accessible from the original

French document on the

Towns website.

Facebook:

Statuses in French only

If the status involves the

addition of a link to the Towns

website, the English versioncan be accessed by clicking on

the French text.

Ex.: comments, questions,

information requests by e-

mail, on Facebook, etc.

General rule:

In French if the employee

is unable to answer in

English or in the languageof the user. The French-

speaking employee will

try to get help from a

collegue or have

someone call the person

back or write.

Facebook :

If the answer is given in

English, it must also be

given in French for the

benefit of all.

Ex.: targeted letter or mailing, personalised

invitations

General rule:

By mail or e-mail:

1st

answer in French marked Upon request,

an English translation of the original Frenchdocument will be made available within 5 to

10 working daysdepending on the deadlines

of the concerned department, the complexity

of the document, etc.

English version requested?

By e-mail:

The translation is e-mailed:

- with the 1st

answer in French

The English version is included as

an attachment in Word Document form,

without a heading, without a signature and

marked This is a translation of the originalFrench documentorThis is the abridged

version (or summary) of the original French

document.

By mail:

The translation is sent by mail:

- with the 1st

answer in French

The English version is a printed separate Word

document, without a heading, without a

signature and marked This is a translation of

the original French documentorThis is the

abridged version (or summary) of the original

French document.

Speeches

Conferences, presentationsThreat to life

In French

There may be exceptions

depending on the circumstances.

On public notices with the French text twice as large as the English

Message from the massive automated calling system (in both languages with

precedence given to French)


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Media Page 6

Canada Post

Request for the English version by mailSituation French document

General rule

No English document sent out by mail.36.5% of 6,900 households = 2,500 potential English-speaking households

We do it for one, we cannot justify not doing it for the others.

Imagine:

60 different types of documents x 2,500 personalised envelopes

@ $0.65 each = $97,500

Liaisons = 2,500 x $2.50/copy x 4 issues = $25,000

Guide = 2,500 x $2/copy x 2 issues = $10,000

$132, 500 in annual postage costs

Plus printing costs and extra personnel for handling individual

requests

Person with impaired

mobility entered on the

Fire Departments list only

On request only

The person must request it each time

No annual automatic mailing list

To be on the list, the person must fill out the formhttp://www.ville.saint-lazare.qc.ca/securitepersonne

No Internet? Or email?

The Town may print an in-houseversion of a document of 8 pages or

less and ask the person to pick it up at the front counter at Town Hall

during regular office hours

or

send a PDF of the document to the persons office e-mail address.

Choice and predominance of the language

No document can allow the choice of the language.

No automatic mailing list in a language other than French (not even for persons with impaired

mobility). A new request must be made each time.

The documents written in French must be:

o available in twice the number of copies

o displayed prominently (on display racks).

Important messages

English version: the Town still provides the same documents it used to provide in English but it does

so in a different and distinct format. The council meeting minutes and the Towns by-laws (except in

abridged form) and job openings have never been translated. The Town cannot translate administrative

documents.
http://www.ville.saint-lazare.qc.ca/securitepersonnehttp://www.ville.saint-lazare.qc.ca/securitepersonnehttp://www.ville.saint-lazare.qc.ca/securitepersonne


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Media Page 7

Printing of the English version: since they are relatively easy to consult on-line, the Town does not

print an English version of documents of 8 pages or less. This approach is more ecological and more

economical for our taxpayers.

Respecting the law: just like residents are asked to obey the Towns by-laws, the Town and its

representatives and elected officials must comply with the Charter.

Separate mailing of the English version when requested:

o The Town is not allowed to mail an anonymous English document.

o The Town has chosen to continue mailing its original French publications to all households so

that all residents have at least one copy delivered directly to their home and so that they dont

all have to go out to pick up their copy. Furthermore, the Town does not want to systematically

penalize the whole population including the 4,400 French-speaking homeowners.

o For financial and ecological reasons and because of a lack of resources, the Town will not send

English documents by mail, even when requested.

Imagine:

60 different types of documents x 2,500 potential English-speaking households @

$0.65/copy = $97,500 in annual postage costs Liaisons $2.50/copy x 2,500 households x 4 issues = $25,000 annually

Guide $2/copy x 2,500 households x 2 issues = $10,000 annually

And additional printing costs for each separate publication plus extra personnel for

handling individual requests

The tax bill: the bilingual version is produced by an independent firm (PG Solutions). The bilingual

generic form is available on the website only. No bilingual version of the tax bill will be sent by mail

even if requested (2,500 separate requests?).

Bilingual status: the Town did not reach the number needed to request official bilingual status

in the latest Statistics Canada census done in 2011 (published on October 24, 2012); Councilwaited until that date to make a decision..

Census: English 36.5% (7,045 residents); French 53.3% (10,290 residents); allophones 7.3% (1,405

residents). Under the Law, the allophone percentage cannot be added to that of English speakers to

obtain bilingual status. In any case, doing so would only bring the total to 43.8% and not to the magic

50%!

Preserving the environment and maintaining the tax rate: systematically printing an English

version of all publications would be neither ecological nor economical.

Exceptions: upon request, an English translation may be sent to a person with impaired mobility as

long as that person is entered on the Fire Departments list of persons with impaired mobility. For

documents 8 pages or less (not usually printed) :

o For people who do not have Internet, a PDF copy may be sent to their office e-mail.

o For people without e-mail and Internet, a in-house copy will be printed for them, which they

will be able to pick-up at a municipal counter.

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