Delmar: Quebec’s new language laws, explained (sort of)

Even “language police” seem unsure about impacts on business comms

This blog is for general information purposes only. Please consult a Quebec-based legal professional for compliance information regarding your situation.

There are more questions than answers in the best of times when dealing with Quebec’s so-called (at least by critics) language police: a civil bureaucracy that can issue fines to organizations, typically businesses, who do not sufficiently communicate in French on signage, in advertising or online.

Bill 96, an update to the Charter of the French Language (Bill 101), toughens many of the existing regulations surrounding the predominance of the French language in business and all public affairs. A couple of clients that offer bilingual services have already been surprised with notices this year, both regarding online content.

For leaders of organizations who regularly communicate to their staff only in English or other third languages in Quebec, there are surely changes to language rules that will affect these organizations.

I wasn’t finding the answers I needed for online content especially, and so I simply called up the language agency, posing as the communications officer for a client, and tried to extract as many specifics as possible. The agency compliance officer was polite but offered little clarity and few words about when advertising content falls under regulation, and when it does not. But we have some hints to share.

Here are the officer’s comments on obligations to translate specific forms of web content:

Blogs: “There is no obligation. The Charter does not cover blogs. All that is commercial only (requires translation)… blogs or client comments, we don’t touch that.”

Social media: “For social media, like the website… for a commercial advertising system, there simply has to be an equivalence between English and French… normally, we don’t touch photos but rather messages (written).”

Let’s now dig in a bit deeper. Based on what the bill says, several analyses by local law firms, news reports and other details from the aforementioned conversation, I’ll recap what we do know about the practical impacts of Bill 96 on different types of business communications.

(Full disclosure: I had my own run-in with the agency almost exactly one year after releasing the infamous “Pastagate” blog for CJAD Montreal radio; the scandal involved the agency’s request to translate the word “pasta” on an Italian restaurant menu. Our communications firm chose in its infancy at the time, out of respect for the language, not to offer services in French without first being able to afford the salary of a qualified editor, who joined the team a few months later. We were pressured to promptly translate our website services, even before the services were available in French, but the inspectors ultimately agreed to our predetermined timeline, albeit following some media spotlighting.)

Speech

Unfortunately, some provisions in the new law cover spoken conversations but the intrusions into the business world appear to be limited (there were fears of an especially constitutionally problematic “Bonjour-Hi” clause on greeting customers in French but it did not survive earlier drafts). For any individual, on a business or personal matter, interactions with government services must be conducted in French, with a short six-month exception for new immigrants and a permanent exception in place for Quebecers who have acquired rights in this respect prior to May 2021 (The Montreal Gazette has the confusing details on the honour system related to English service availability).

Commercial signage

A source of much confusion, many legal experts continue to disagree on the particularities of sign regulations. Government infographics don’t seem to help matters, though what is suggested is that French words have a “greater visual impact” than those in other languages, even English, and especially on signage of any kind that is “visible from outdoors” — a cheeky sandwich board with daily specials in English only would be an example of a commercial message that is no longer tolerated.

The number of words on outdoor signage may not be relevant but the physical space taken up by them is relevant. How much other languages will be tolerated remains unclear, and the safest advice to avoid liabilities or extra expenses would be to avoid commercial signage in languages other than French — certainly on a retailer’s facade or around it. Multinationals like Starbucks sometimes avoid words altogether, relying on their logo for signage. Other languages on signage indoors may or may not be tolerated but French must be clearly predominant, which judging by precedent has meant twice as large in size.

Web

Again, more questions than answers remain, even after our conversation. The online space may shield entrepreneurs from some but not all language rules.

Signage rules, like the size of a logo vs. its descriptor, may not apply to online platforms. Ditto for blogs, random posts or rants, or any messages that aren’t for a “commercial” purpose, at least in an overt manner; this is very difficult to interpret for a content marketing firm since most of our work is commercial but not overtly so. From what we understand, posts that may require French translation but perhaps not visual predominance include, but may not be limited to: product or service advertisements, sales events or discounts, and job postings.

Several Canadian content firms are advertising services to translate entire websites for Quebec language law compliance. Such services may be misleading. Companies do not necessarily have to translate websites top-to-bottom, including blog sections, but must focus on sections that contain direct commercial appeals. We consider this to mean the home page, as well as pages generally reserved for History or About Us, Services and Contact. We have yet to see violations on blog or technical resource pages, nor personal social media where no overt commercial appeal was present, but new guidelines are only weeks old and their scope may be wider than expected.

From a public relations perspective, it is normal and important to offer all services available to a population in its chosen language, and if possible even one or two of the next most popular languages. Whether or not this should be enforced with civil penalties is a matter more appropriate for another space.

Social

Under previous governments, social media platforms were completely off-limits because of their conversational nature but no longer. Like websites, social content with overt commercial appeals including ads, offers or job postings may require systematic French translation to avoid violations.

Profile text (about, descriptions, headlines, etc.) that remains on the brand’s page permanently, the compliance officer told us, may be required to be available in French but not individual posts that contain no overtly commercial messages. Similarly, influencer marketing with no written component posted to social networks, that is to say only influencers talking, has not yet been a target of language inspectors.

Tech

There are no exceptions for technology products like software, apps, websites, etc. — even if used for limited commercial purposes (ex. specialized social network or industry database). The content of public portals are covered under aforementioned advertising content regulations.

Workplace

Generally speaking, all Quebecers should have the right to communicate in French in any institution as well as have access to all contracts, policies or critical documents relating to their employment or other status in French. Though internal communication (ex. memos, announcements) translation requirements may only apply to businesses with 25 or more employees (previously 50 or more), here again there is some grey area on what types of communication may or may not be covered — when in doubt, offer a translation.

Manufacturing

For labels on physical products, subtitles, descriptors, copy text — everything but the company brand must include French translations, including physical or digital text used with electronics and major appliances. Prior to the change, sub-brands or variations (“pear and lavender” in the government’s example below) may have been tolerated as part of a protected brand. The government notes that trademarking the variation does not shield the product from violations.

Trademarks

Federally-registered businesses and trademarks are for now no longer shielded from Quebec’s language laws. Though anglophone-sounding brands may be retained, their descriptors must be changed, according to the government. Due to the legal complexities involved in trademarking, we’ll leave it here and advise those affected to consult a Québec-based trademark lawyer.

TNKR Media offers content packages for business that include adaptation and translation to the francophone Quebec market. Contact us for details.

Photo: Lisanto 李奕良 on Unsplash