Bilingualism in Ottawa

{{more citations needed|date=January 2012}}

{{more citations needed|date=January 2012}}

[[Image:Bilingual street signs, Ottawa.jpeg|thumb|upright=1.5|Street signs in Ottawa are bilingual, like the ones shown here.]]Ottawa offers municipal services in English and French AND IS officially bilingual in law. ref>{{Cite news|url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/bilingual-ottawa-groups-claim-victory-with-provincial-bill-to-enshrine-citys-bilingualism-policy-in-law|title=Bilingual Ottawa groups claim victory with provincial bill to enshrine city's bilingualism policy in law|date=2017-11-17|work=Ottawa Citizen|access-date=2018-03-01|language=en-US}}</ref>[[Image:Francoottawa.PNG|thumb|Distribution map showing percentage of Ottawans with [[French language|French]] as their mother tongue. Click for more detail.]]

[[Image:Bilingual street signs, Ottawa.jpeg|thumb|upright=1.5|Street signs in Ottawa are bilingual, like the ones shown here.]]Ottawa offers municipal services in English and French but is not officially bilingual, despite a December 2017 bill intent on requiring the designation.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/bilingual-ottawa-groups-claim-victory-with-provincial-bill-to-enshrine-citys-bilingualism-policy-in-law|title=Bilingual Ottawa groups claim victory with provincial bill to enshrine city's bilingualism policy in law|date=2017-11-17|work=Ottawa Citizen|access-date=2018-03-01|language=en-US}}</ref>[[Image:Francoottawa.PNG|thumb|Distribution map showing percentage of Ottawans with [[French language|French]] as their mother tongue. Click for more detail.]]

One [[controversial]] aspect of the [[City of Ottawa Act]] was the manner in which it addressed official '''bilingualism''' within [[Ottawa]]'s [[municipal government]]. Before the enactment of the Act, [[Glen Shortliffe]], a special advisor appointed by the provincial government to make recommendations on municipal governance in [[Ottawa–Carleton]], recommended in 1999 that the new amalgamated city of Ottawa be designated as officially [[bilingual]], with municipal services available in both [[English language|English]] and [[French language|French]].

One [[controversial]] aspect of the [[City of Ottawa Act]] was the manner in which it addressed official '''bilingualism''' within [[Ottawa]]'s [[municipal government]]. Before the enactment of the Act, [[Glen Shortliffe]], a special advisor appointed by the provincial government to make recommendations on municipal governance in [[Ottawa–Carleton]], recommended in 1999 that the new amalgamated city of Ottawa be designated as officially [[bilingual]], with municipal services available in both [[English language|English]] and [[French language|French]].