The city of Moncton will be marking 10 years of being officially bilingual at a council meeting Monday night as citizens and politicians consider ways to improve local services for the next decade.

In 2002, Moncton councillors passed a resolution to become Canada’s first officially bilingual city.

That milestone will be commemorated Monday evening as the current council reads the declaration that was passed by former mayor Brian Murphy.

Coun. Paulette Theriault said Moncton is more bilingual than it was a decade ago when the bylaw was passed.

“Things have evolved tremendously. Living in Moncton maybe it's not quite as obvious to those of us who live here but I hear from people who visit who really see the difference,” Theriault said.

Moncton passed its bilingualism bylaw in 2002, a few months after the New Brunswick government updated its Official Bilingualism Act for the first time since 1969.

The province’s Court of Appeal ruled in December 2001 that Moncton’s bylaws weren’t valid because they were not passed in both English and French. That was after a lawsuit.

The lawsuit was launched by Mario Charlebois, an apartment building owner in the city.

When Moncton approved its bilingualism bylaw, it ensured the city would provide all services and make all public notices and information in both languages.

Sign bylaw debate

While the city passed its language bylaw a decade ago, it has not stopped the debate about the level of bilingual services that Moncton should provide.

The neighbouring city of Dieppe passed a bilingual sign bylaw in 2010, which says commercial signs must be in both official languages.

Moncton has taken a different approach and is encouraging businesses to use bilingual signs through education and handing out free signs.

Theriault sits on the city's bilingual signage committee and she said it took Dieppe several years to work out the problems before it passed its bylaw.

She said Moncton believes it has taken the right approach so far with its sign bylaw policy.

“We are just beginning and the idea of bilingual signage was not on the agenda of council five years ago, I don't think it could have been brought before council,” she said.

“Today we are able to discuss this. It's an important file for the city and we treat it as such. So we have come a long way and hopefully we will eventually have our bilingual signage.”

Some Moncton residents are open to the city finding more ways to integrate both languages.

“I'd like to see more bilingual signs, then that way you get to learn your French and English together on the sign,” said Sandy Lays.

When Moncton council was debating its sign policy, Barry Renouf, a local businessman, threatened to sue the city if a bilingual sign bylaw is adopted.

It is estimated that 22 per cent of the signs in downtown Moncton are bilingual. Moncton is hoping that number will rise to 30 per cent in five years.

Greater Moncton's population is 124,055 and according to the city's website 62 per cent of its citizens identify themselves as anglophones and 32 per cent are francophones.