English-Only By-Law Repealed in Head, Clara and Maria

BY TIM RUHNKE

Head, Clara and Maria council has repealed a by-law that declared English to be the only official language of the municipality.

The 1989 by-law, which was passed at a time when bilingual - English and French - government services was a major issue in Ontario, had been identified as one of several municipal statutes that were to be scrapped. However, council voted May 5 to refer the matter back to the committee level.

The committee reviewed the matter the following week and agreed that the by-law should be scrapped, according to councillor Margaret Watts. Council decided two weeks ago to go along with the committee's recommendation.

The by-law stated "that the English language be used as the official language of the Corporation in carrying out the programs and the work of the Corporation..." The programs identified include public signs and information, recruitment and staffing of personnel, and all communications with the public and all levels of government.

Although the by-law notes that Head, Clara and Maria "recognizes that the Townships are composed of many different ethnic groups, languages and cultures," it goes on to state that English should be the sole official language "in the interests of maintaining goodwill, harmony and responsible fiscal management..." Councillor Bill Croshaw said last week that the by-law was not hurting anyone. He warned that one day down the road there will be a group of French-speaking people who will insist on receiving municipal service in that language.

Croshaw's remark prompted councillor Jim Allison to comment that the council of the day can deal with the situation.

Requests for municipal service in a language other than English are infrequent, according to clerk-treasurer Diane Beauchamp. When the occasional contact with someone who speaks French is made, it is something Beauchamp is able to handle because she is bilingual. Councillor Watts, who sits on the committee that com¬piled the list of "outdated" by-laws, recalled that there was a great deal of concern in 1989 that the province was going to force bilingualism onto municipalities. There were good reasons for implementing such a by-law at that time, Croshaw told council. But Watts, who was new to council at that time, told the NRT that she now finds the wording of the by-law to be too aggressive and limiting. Reeve Lita Therrien also commented that the wording of the by-law was too restrictive.

Municipal officials say that there have been no recent problems involving language at the townships level. Head, Clara and Maria was one of many municipalities that declared themselves English-only in 1989-90. At that time, Sault Ste. Marie's decision to make such a move sparked a national debate.

Since then, at least one English-only by-law has been struck down by the courts.

The Ontario French Language Services Act, requires provincial services to be provided in French in communities that have a certain number or percentage of francophone residents.