Michel Doucet, a constitutional lawyer, said other municipalities may now pass similar bilingual sign bylaws after Thursday's court ruling. (Marc Genuist/CBC)

Two outdoor sign companies have pleaded guilty on Thursday to putting up billboards that do not conform to Dieppe's contentious language bylaw.

The city’s bylaw states that all commercial signs, including billboards, must be bilingual.

Basile Chiasson, the lawyer for the city, said he welcomed the companies' guilty pleas.

“I believe that much should be said towards the goodwill shown by CBS and Pattison in acknowledging that the city had been right from the beginning,” Chiasson said.

Chiasson said he believes the companies were motivated by a recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal that ruled a similar bylaw in Ontario was constitutional.

The appeal court unanimously ruled that bilingual bylaws may restrict companies freedom of expression in order to protect minority rights.

The lawyer for CBS and Pattison did not want to comment on the case on Thursday.

The companies were fined $140 for each of 41 infractions. CBS pleaded guilty to 12 charges and Pattison pleaded guilty to 29 infractions.

Michel Doucet, a constitutional lawyer and professor at the University of Moncton, said with this court case other municipalities in the province can now pass similar bylaws.

"If a lot of them were sitting on the fence looking at Dieppe and wondering if Dieppe was doing the right thing, they are certainly getting a clear message by the courage of the municipality of Dieppe has shown in this case," Doucet said.

Language bylaw

Dieppe passed its bilingual sign bylaw in May 2010. The bylaw states that French will have to be either at the top of the sign, above the English text, or on the left of the sign with the English text on the right.

Dieppe gave businesses months to comply with the new rules and the city started fining companies in September 2011 for violating the bylaw.

The neighbouring city of Moncton has opted for a different strategy when it comes to bilingual signs.

Moncton estimates the number of bilingual signs in the downtown is at 22 per cent.

So it is planning an education campaign to increase the number of bilingual signs in the downtown to 30 per cent in the next five years.