Free outdoor films in off-Island suburb will be French only this summer because of Bill 96

A series of free outdoor film screenings in a community just west of Montreal will be exclusively in French this summer, to the dismay of some English-speaking residents.

For the past six years, Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot has organized movie screenings—one in English and one in French—at two different parks on Thursdays.

But that isn't happening this year because of Bill 96, according to its mayor.

The community promoted the event on Facebook, announcing family-friendly titles like The Super Mario Bros Movie and Despicable Me 3.

When one person commented to ask why no films were screening in English, the municipality responded:

"Due to the coming into force of Bill 96, the City must use French in an exemplary manner, including in the choice of films presented as part of Thursdays in the Parks. Have a nice day!" read the comment, published in French.

The response prompted many comments from people upset with the change, with some saying they look forward to the event every year.

"The city have chosen to side with an all French approach … in that same way of thinking, English people are obviously second-rate citizens to them," commented Steve Fortin.

"What is most insulting is the City answering the question about the lack of English movies in FRENCH only!" commented Mike Bouchard.

'IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE': MAYOR

Mayor Danie Deschênes says she's not happy with the move either, but the municipality had no choice.

"It doesn't make sense," she said in an interview with CTV News, explaining that it's "hard to apply a law that's unclear."

Deschênes says the city's legal department consulted Quebec's sweeping new language legislation, and determined the event must be held in French unless it wanted to face a potential $30,000 fine.

As for the French-only response on Facebok, she said: "Was it a mistake? Maybe."

Deschênes says her team is looking at potential loopholes that would allow it to screen films in both languages. For example, there could be an exception if the event is considered a tourist attraction.

Deschênes says she hopes to find a solution that works for all residents. Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot is a community of about 12,000 people, about one-third of whom are Anglophone.