A new section of “Law 96” came into force on Thursday, at the end of a three-month “race against time” which monopolized all the major law firms in Montreal and forced thousands of notaries to review their ways.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
It is now illegal for notaries to publish deeds in English in the Land Registry and the Register of Personal and Movable Real Rights (RDPRM). The documents must systematically be translated and registered in French in the registers, even if the transactions were carried out between English speakers.
The notaries deplore the short time allowed to them to make these changes. They benefited from three months after the sanction of the An Act respecting the official and common language of Quebec, French by the National Assembly of Quebec, on 1er June 2022, when they called for a one-year “interim” period.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, PRESS ARCHIVES
Me Hélène Potvin, president of the Chambre des notaires du Québec, which has 3,800 members
Some notaries, I won’t hide it from you, are worried about the rapid entry into force and the fact that they will have to adapt their practice.
Me Hélène Potvin, President of the Chamber of Notaries of Quebec
“It’s completely bad timing [pour nous]but it’s good timing before the elections,” says Kevin Houle, president of the Association professionnelle des notaires du Québec.
According to our information, battalions of lawyers from several major Montreal firms worked tirelessly all summer to enable notaries and financial institutions to comply with the law. The work continued until the very last minute, and several differences of interpretation persist.
“It was like a race against time,” sums up lawyer Melissa Tehrani, a partner at Gowlings law firm, which has advised several clients in this case.
English-speaking customers affected
Year after year, 13% of real estate sales are made by Anglophones in Quebec, according to data provided by the Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers of Quebec. This represented 14,154 transactions last year – and thousands of notarial deeds filed in English in public registers.
Several notaries who work mainly with English-speaking clients, such as Mr.e Lorena Lopez Gonzalez, are worried about certain consequences of “Law 96”. She fears possible “conflicts of interpretation” between the English and French versions of the acts, which could emerge years after their filing.
Unfortunately, I would tell you that we, the notaries, are a bit in the dark. I have unilingual Anglophone clients who will sign deeds in a language they don’t understand. I’m afraid it could cause problems later.
Lorena Lopez Gonzalez, Montreal notary
Notaries are also apprehensive about the delays and additional costs that translating mountains of documents from English into French will entail.
Translators relativize
Donald Barabé, president of the Order of Certified Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters of Quebec (OTTIAQ), puts these fears into perspective. The province has more than enough certified translators – 2,700, including 500 specialized in legal affairs – to meet the new demand, he estimates.
Translators are used to that, writing texts urgently. It happens very frequently and it can be done in a few hours.
Donald Barabé, President of OTTIAQ
Translation costs vary between $40 and $120 for a 300-word page, he adds, which equates to a bill of $400 to $1,200 for a 10-page deed. “I would say it’s not really a significant cost. Don’t forget that at the end of the day, it’s to allow francophones to have access to documents in their language. »
“Fundamental”, says Jolin-Barrette
The outgoing minister responsible for the French language, Simon Jolin-Barrette, who is seeking re-election in the Borduas constituency, considers it “fundamental” that all documents entered in state registers be in French.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Simon Jolin-Barrette. French language minister
“States, in their official documents, they do this in the official language of their state,” he told The Press. French is the official language of the Quebec state, so it is completely normal, if we want to be consistent, particularly in terms of setting an example for the state, that the documents that are published be in French. »
Two provisions of “Bill 96” which were also to come into force on Thursday were temporarily suspended by the Superior Court of Quebec in mid-August.