Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson says he's "disappointed" someone would "hijack" his monthly breakfast meeting by leaving "anti-francophone" flyers on guests' chairs at the Tuesday morning event.

The flyers, which misspell the word "bilingual," claim "Canada is not a billingual country," and "The Ontario French community numbers less than 4% of the entire Ontario population ... and proudly enjoys 100% of Ontario's freedoms & potential."

A website listed on the flyers links to the web page of a group called Canadians for Language Fairness.

On Twitter, Watson released a copy of an email he sent to the group, written in French, saying whoever distributed the flyers was "no longer welcome to attend" any of his future events.

Mayor 'extremely disappointed'

"To those guests who distributed anti-Francophone propaganda at my breakfast this morning: I'm extremely disappointed by your actions and words," Watson wrote.

"Our friends and colleagues in Ottawa's Francophone community do not take anything away from the community; they make it stronger with their language, their culture, their involvement and their many contributions to our city," he continued.

I am disappointed that you would hijack my breakfast at City Hall to promote your sad message of division. - Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson

"Although I believe in free speech, I am disappointed that you would hijack my breakfast at City Hall to promote your sad message of division. Please know that you are no longer welcome to attend my events in the future," the statement continued.

Canadians for Language Fairness responds

According to its website, Canadians for Language Fairness seeks to "End the unfairness of official bilingualism. Stop wasting our tax dollars."

In a French-language interview with Radio-Canada, a spokesperson for the group admitted that the group's actions were a faux-pas.

''Canadians for Language Fairness is trying to push the message that [the Official Languages Act] has gone too far. Were [our actions] appropriate? Maybe not, but we don't often get the chance to pass this message.''

On Tuesday afternoon, the Ottawa Board of Trade, which co-presents the breakfast series with the Ottawa Business Journal, issued an apology "to everyone who took offence to the material that was distributed without our knowledge."

The board said as soon as it became aware of the flyer's contents, "we took steps to have the documents removed as quickly as possible." The flyer is "not related" to either co-presenter, the board said.

Francophone group calls flyers 'unsettling'

While bilingualism does create some costs for the City of Ottawa, there are also many benefits for the municipality, according to Ajà Besler, executive director of the Association of Francophone Communities of Ottawa.

In an interview in French, Besler said distributing the flyers during the Mayor's Breakfast, which should be an occasion for public discussion and celebration, was "unsettling."

We would like to offer our apologies for the materials that were distributed without our knowledge during today's Mayor's Breakfast. <br><br>Nous aimerions présenter nos sincères excuses à toutes les personnes qui ont été choquées des documents distribués à notre insu, ce matin. <a href="https://t.co/whVxnoNsvp">pic.twitter.com/whVxnoNsvp</a> —@ottawabot

Canada's former governor general, David Johnston, was keynote speaker at the breakfast, which was held in Jean Pigott Place, just outside the council chamber at city hall.