Longueuil mayor irritated by English at council meetings

A Greenfield Park city councillor’s insistence on speaking both English as well as French is annoying Longueuil’s mayor.

Robert Myles said he has been speaking both languages at Longueuil council meetings for a decade, but after a complaint last month by fellow councillor Sylvie Parent, Longueuil Mayor Caroline St-Hilaire has said the practice “irritates" her.

At a council meeting, Parent had asked the council’s speaker to clarify the official rules on the use of English. The speaker ruled that Myles may speak in English and French due to Greenfield Park’s bilingual stature.

St-Hilaire interjected, saying she wanted to make sure Bill 101 was being respected and that 96 per cent of Longueuil residents understands French, a claim that Myles said was besides the point.

“It’s important that I respect the citizens of the city of Longueuil, the bilingual status in Greenfield Park, and that’s my goal,” he said.

St-Hilaire declined to comment for CTV and a spokesperson referred reporters to St-Hilaire’s a post on the mayor’s Facebook page. In that post, she said her annoyance stems from what she called Myles’ attempts to introduce a bilingual characteristic to Longueuil’s city council.

“We are in Quebec and city council deliberations MUST be conducted in French,” she said. “The city of Longueuil is not a bilingual administration, period.”

Not everybody on council has a problem with Myles language choice.

“It’s his job,” said Councillor Jacques Lemire. “I have no problem with that.”