Preserving Lennoxville's bilingual status a key issue for voters in English enclave
Identity at heart of electoral discussions in Lennoxville, a Sherbrooke borough since 2002 merger
David Price, the outgoing chair of the borough of Lennoxville, is retiring from politics after representing the region's citizens for nearly 30 years, at both the municipal and federal levels.
One of his battles in recent years has been preserving the bilingual identity of Lennoxville, the former town which merged with the City of Sherbrooke in 2002.
"If it wasn't for our bilingual status, Sherbrooke would have turned us into part of another district,'' said Price.
The former Liberal MP, who returned to municipal politics in 2009, considered calling it quits before the last municipal election but reconsidered when Sherbrooke's mayor, Bernard Sévigny, campaigned on reducing the number of councillors and boroughs.
"If people in Sherbrooke decided they wanted to go to the government and say Lennoxville doesn't meet bilingual status, then we would lose our whole community aspect," said Price.
From town, to borough, to district
Lennoxville was the only borough left untouched, while others, such as Brompton, lost their status.
Preserving Lennoxville's distinct character is a key issue driving people to go out and vote on Nov. 5, said Lennoxville resident John Crease.
"Obviously, I'm going to vote, and I think a lot of people will, because we want to protect our identity here. It's very important to local people."
Linda Maskell, owner of Tri-Knit-T yarn shop, said there is still a cultural divide between Sherbrooke and Lennoxville.
''I get customers who come in and say, 'I'm not from here, I'm visiting from Sherbrooke.'''
Preserving Lennoxville's bilingual status
Here's what the five candidates have to say about the issue:
Linda Boulanger — Independent
Linda Boulanger is the incumbent councillor for Lennoxville's Uplands district.
She said maintaining Lennoxville's bilingual status is important, particularly to guarantee services will be provided in both languages.
"Right now everybody receives everything in French. Anglophones have to take the initiative to call and ask to be sent municipal letters in English. I don't believe it's right,'' she said.
Boulanger is proposing to add a form in municipal notices that people could fill out to ask their correspondence be sent in English.
"I think it's a measure that can be put in place at the City of Sherbrooke, for that matter.''
Claude Charron — Independent
Claude Charron is the incumbent councillor for Lennoxville's Fairview district.
He said rather than focusing on conserving the borough's bilingual status, he is going to concentrate on maintaining Lennoxville's status as a borough.
"Our borough has councillors and a president. The other boroughs aren't set up that way. Bromptonville is losing their borough [status], they're becoming a district. That's the difference between us and them now."
Charron said if Lennoxville were to lose its status, councillors would represent twice as many citizens in their district.
"Of course, with one representing 10,000, you're pushing your councillors away from the citizens," Charron said.
"So that's something worthwhile protecting, I think."
Michael Labarre — Sherbrooke Citoyen
Michael Labarre is an English college professor involved in sporting events in Lennoxville.
He said the resounding message he's heard from citizens going door to door is their desire to have more say in local decisions. He said many feel forgotten since Lennoxville was merged into Sherbrooke.
"People feel abandoned," Labarre said. "They need to have this feeling they're being listened to and understood."
Labarre said he hopes whoever is elected will take this into consideration and keep people in Lennoxville informed of the decisions made at city hall.
François-René Monpetit — Renouveau sherbrookois
François-René Monpetit is an English professor and a graduate of Bishop's University.
He is running for Renouveau sherbrookois, the party of incumbent mayor Bernard Sévigny.
"I have it straight from the mayor's mouth that we have no intention of ever removing Lennoxville's bilingual status," Montpetit said.
He said as a unique, bilingual community, Lennoxville is a huge asset for Sherbrooke.
He said he wouldn't have run for Sévigny's party without knowing that bilingual status was secure.
"It would require merging with a large francophone population, which would then cause it to perhaps lose its bilingual identity after a large influx of francophones," he said. "We don't want that."
Roy Patterson — Independent
Roy Patterson ran for mayor of Sherbrooke in the 2013 elections, finishing with 6.46 per cent of the vote.
He said bilingual status isn't enough: he'd prefer to see Lennoxville separate from Sherbrooke altogether and go back to being an independent town.
"Lennoxville is the frog in the pot of Sherbrooke," Patterson said. "I believe we are slowly being cooked, and at some point, we will be merged with the rest of Sherbrooke and lose even our status of district."
Patterson said Lennoxville could be run more efficiently and should strive to become self sufficient.
"Anything you can measure, you can improve on. We need to consume less. Developing systems like a local car-sharing system. Things like that that will take us into the 21st century through innovation and through sustainability.''
Make a date with CBC for election night this Sunday, Nov. 5:
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On Radio: Listen to CBC Radio One starting at 8 p.m. for a province-wide show hosted by Mike Finnerty in Montreal and Susan Campbell in Quebec City.
With files from Rebecca Martel and Alison Brunette