Back to SearchDieppe Updates Language Policy to Reaffirm Mission to Shine as an Inclusive, Modern Francophone City
DIEPPE, NB — The City of Dieppe adopted an updated language policy at its regular council meeting on Monday, October 23.
Dieppe is proud to have declared itself a francophone city offering bilingual services in 2000, making French its working language. As a leader for many decades in promoting the French language, Dieppe is a city whose founding families and current population are overwhelmingly French-speaking and of Acadian descent.
The need to review the former policy, which was adopted by City Council in 2005 after a number of revisions since 1994, stems from the cultural richness of the City’s francophone community and the current population boom.
“Dieppe operates in a predominantly English-speaking region and province, and maintaining the demographic weight of francophones is top of mind for us,” says Mayor Yvon Lapierre. “The significant increase in our population over the years and the growing number of newcomers show that it’s entirely possible to support the various cultures that make our municipality vibrant and enable those communities to live in harmony and mutual respect.”
The most recent update of the language policy aims to clarify the requirements of the Official Languages Act and enshrine best practices that the City has long implemented. It also includes a more detailed set of tools, as well as more frequent follow-up and supports for employees.
With this update, Dieppe reaffirms its commitment to offering members of both official language communities quality services in the language of their choice, while continuing to shine as an inclusive and modern francophone city that is proud of its Acadian roots and provides first-rate services and infrastructure in harmony with the environment.