Following a presentation by the Association of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (AMBM), Ritchot’s council is considering the adoption of a bylaw which will eventually ensure that all municipal services are delivered in both official languages.
On December 6, three delegates from the AMBM joined council via remote video to review a proposal for a bylaw change which they hope will be adopted by every member municipality.
The AMBM was created in the early 1990s to act as a political and strategic voice for Manitoba’s bilingual communities. Their purpose is to advocate for these members in the upper political arenas and to develop tools to help them build up their bilingual frameworks.
Justin Johnson, CEO of AMBM, introduced council to a new strategy they’ve developed called the Municipal Maturity Model. If adopted, it will bring municipal bylaws in closer alignment with currently held provincial and federal frameworks regarding official languages.
“When it comes down to it, our member municipalities are not getting their fair share in matching funding for official language service delivery at this point in time,” Johnson told council.
According to Johnson, between the years 2020 and 2025, rural bilingual municipalities are estimated to invest about $5 million in language services.
“The provincial government gets funding equal to their own investments if not more,” says Johnson. “So with this new framework at the municipal level, we’re hoping in the long term to get our fair share of funding, or at least get matching funding for what is invested in the municipal service delivery.”
Background to the Old Bylaw
AMBM representative Louis Tetreault provided some insight into the background of the bylaw being considered for revision. The bylaw was originally written and used by all AMBM member municipalities to indicate their intent to adopt the use of bilingual service delivery, correspondence, and signage.
“The Ritchot bylaw dates back to 1995 when it was that original cookie-cutter bylaw that is somewhat stringent and difficult nowadays for our member municipalities to totally respect,” Tetreault said.
Realizing that the bylaw was outdated and not being used to its full capacity, the AMBM consulted with the CAOs of the member municipalities and provided a web survey for broader input. From this, the Municipal Maturity Model was created.
Adopting the New Bylaw
Another AMBM representative, Donald Legal, walked council through the three-step process that would be required of council in order to change their bilingual service delivery bylaw going forward.
The first two steps would be relatively simple for Ritchot, he says, given they are already well on their way towards applying these processes.
“The first commitment is to publishing your minutes in French and English,” Legal told council.
The second commitment, he added, would be to ensure that all bylaws are published in both official languages.
“The third commitment would take a little more work, but it would be contingent on the AMBM providing funding for that to take place,” said Legal.
That third step includes a process by which council would analyze every area of Ritchot’s service delivery, communication, and signage through the lens of 20 different criteria as established by the AMBM.
Each category would need to be rated on a scale of zero to three.
“Zero simply means that you are not [currently] providing services in that specific area,” Legal said. “Three means that you are providing [French] services that your citizens would expect of an RM… Level two means the transition phase.”
Once all categories are rated, council would have a clearer picture by which to set targets for improvement on their bilingual services and a timeline in which to get them done.
Johnson concluded the presentation with a reminder that AMBM will provide coaching and resources to council throughout the process.
“Our objective here is for municipalities to have the support needed to ensure that they’re compliant with this new bylaw,” Johnson wrapped up.