Hanes: One Quebec mayor seeks elusive bilingual status to better serve anglo constituents

COLUMNISTS Hanes: One Quebec mayor seeks elusive bilingual status to better serve anglo constituents “They have the right to understand what’s happening in their municipality,” says Godmanchester's Judith Fouquet. Godmanchester Mayor Judith Fouquet speaks with retired farmer Ronald O'Connor in the town southwest of Montreal on Tuesday September 22, 2026. English is the mother tongue of nearly 40 per cent of Godmanchester's population, but Fouquet is rarely permitted to send bilingual messages because of Bill 96. (John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette) By Allison Hanes September 24, 2026 at 6:30 a.m. Last Updated: September 24, 2026 at 10:55 a.m. Since she was elected mayor of the dairy farming hamlet of Godmanchester nearly a year ago, Judith Fouquet has only been allowed to send out a single message to her constituents in English. That was this summer when a case of rabies was detected in a local cat and she needed to warn the population of her community, nestled in the southwest corner of Quebec near the Ontario and U.S. borders. “It was a matter of public safety,” Fouquet said of the only bilingual missive she has been legally permitted to send under Bill 96, Quebec’s restrictive language law. “But when I send them information by email about an upcoming roadblock, taxes, it’s just French. I don’t have the right.” This has become a source of frustration for both mayor and residents in Godmanchester, population 1,536, where 38 per cent of the population’s mother tongue is English and 42 per cent communicate primarily in English, according to 2021 census data. “When I campaigned to be mayor, I knocked on every door in my municipality. And it came up all the time,” said Fouquet, who also served a term as a councillor. “There were people who were practically crying, saying: ‘It makes no sense. We pay taxes. It’s like we’re second-class citizens.’ It’s very strong here. The population, some of them, their families have been here for 200 years, and they’re still here today. They can speak in French, but reading in French is not easy. It’s really an injustice in a sense.” Since she was elected mayor of Godmanchester nearly a year ago, Judith Fouquet has only been allowed to send out a single message to her constituents in English. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette Under Bill 96, municipalities, like all government bodies and public organizations, are obligated to communicate exclusively in French, with limited exceptions. This includes websites, mailings,…