In a little less than a year, other important pieces of the new French language law are due to come into force for businesses established in Quebec. Although many are preparing for their application, future obligations still raise eyebrows, in particular because of the paperwork required and a lack of clarity.
As we approach 1er June 2025, Isabelle Jomphe and Brittany Carson, two lawyers from the Lavery firm, are very busy. Since the adoption of Bill 96 in 2022, they have helped many businesses here and elsewhere to comply with the various amendments.
“We’re coming to the home stretch. So, we need to look for the little additional details to try to best advise companies and avoid unpleasant surprises on June 2, 2025,” mentioned Mr. Jomphe in an interview.
The lawyer devotes a good part of her time to questions surrounding future trademark rules.
One of them concerns the exterior commercial signage of a premises. French must appear “clearly predominant” when the trademark of a company appears in a language other than that of Molière. The name of a company with an expression taken from a language other than French is also covered by this measure.
“This will require merchants to possibly make significant changes to their facade, if they do not already meet this criterion,” indicates Me Jomphe.
Me Carson is working, for his part, on the issue of francization which will now affect small businesses with 25 to 49 employees. They must register before 1er June 2025 with the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) and begin a francization process.
This involves carrying out a linguistic analysis with the aim of demonstrating the widespread use of French at all levels of its organization and thus obtaining a francization certificate from the OQLF.
Me Carson relates that many of the questions she receives come from companies whose head offices are outside Quebec.
“For people who perhaps on a daily basis work with people outside of Quebec who do not speak French, who do not write in French, it is quite a challenge,” says the labor law lawyer. and employment.
Another “misunderstanding”
According to the vice-president for Quebec of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), François Vincent, there is still a “misunderstanding of what is coming” among its members.
“Especially the administrative burden of being told that they work well in French,” he adds, referring to the documents to be completed as part of the francization process.
The CFIB estimates that companies will take between 20 and 50 hours to answer questions related to francization. And based on the latest data from the OQLF, most of them will be told that they are respecting their linguistic obligations, believes Mr. Vincent.
As of March 31, 2023, 66% of certified companies “obtained their certificate without having to implement a francization program,” according to the OQLF’s 2022-2023 annual management report.
As businesses are facing many challenges at the moment, the francization process may be far down on their list of priorities, says Mr. Vincent.
“Not that they don’t want to do it or that they don’t work in French. But it’s a rolling fire at the moment. The first consequence of the labor shortage is that the business manager is on the floor putting out fires,” he says.
His organization is working to inform its members with a web page and webinars dedicated to the new obligations. On its website, the CFIB also launched a countdown before the rules come into force.
Mr. Vincent believes that Quebec could make an “extra effort” to better inform businesses.
The OQLF says it is planning “awareness-raising actions to inform businesses of the new requirements”.
“It will offer personalized assistance to allow companies to validate their correction project, if necessary,” the office said by email.
“Gray areas”
The implementation of the new rules is causing “frustration” among retailers, also observes the general director of the Quebec Retail Council, Damien Silès.
“Because it takes time, it takes money. And it was already very strict, so it makes some of our retailers grumble a little,” he says, recalling that the legislation on the display of trademarks had already been updated a few years ago.
The president and CEO of Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Québec, Véronique Proulx, notes among her members “still a lot of skepticism” regarding the usefulness and relevance of the measures.
“There is also a lack of clarity,” she emphasizes. What we have often asked of the OQLF is to have a clear guide. »
The absence of an application guide creates a certain “concern among companies because you don’t know if you are complying or not,” says M.me Proulx.
Many are eagerly awaiting the final version of the regulation on the language of commerce and business in order to clarify the new provisions.
“There are still a few gray areas,” notes M.e Jomphe. There are still points that are open to interpretation, so we hope to have more details. »
The Ministry of the French Language indicated that “the regulation will be made public soon”.
Mr Silès hopes that more time will be given to retailers to comply. “80% of the 32,000 businesses in Quebec have fewer than 20 employees. They therefore do not have the same means to change,” he explains.
To know if it will show a certain flexibility or tolerance in the application, the OQLF responds that “certain transitional measures have been planned in particular to allow the sale of products already manufactured on this date which do not comply with the new rules.
“The Office will support each company in order to find a solution adapted to its situation,” adds the organization.
The speakers interviewed reiterated that companies are committed to promoting French and want to comply with the legislation.
“There is a desire to do things well,” says Me Carson. But clear rules and a flexible approach are necessary to allow “greater support”, adds M.e Jomphe.
The ministry maintains that the government’s priorities “in matters of promotion and protection of French and the objectives of economic stakeholders are reconcilable.”
Remember that the new measures of the Official Language Act came into force gradually, some from 2022 and others last year.