Proposed changes to the Charte de la langue française

Here are the main measures that will affect retail:

Inclusion of the status of the Charte de la langue française in the Canadian constitution and in the Quebec charter

• This measure aims to make the right to be served in French (whether in writing or in person) judicious before the charters of rights and freedoms.
• Concretely, a customer who so wishes can lodge a complaint with the Office Québécois de la langue française and / or file a civil action before the courts.

Application of Bill 101 to federally chartered companies

• Companies under a federal charter will henceforth have to comply with all the requirements of the Charter, including the notion of service in French.

Obligation of companies to offer services, products and documentation in French

• This new obligation will be applied through the provisions of the charters of rights and freedoms, and through interventions by the Office québécois de la langue française (which will be defined by regulation).

Francization committee for SMEs with 25 to 99 employees

• From now on, all businesses with less than 50 employees will have to set up a francization process. This measure requires the creation of a francization committee and francization strictly speaking of the operations of the company.

Next steps

RCC will do everything in its power to be heard by the government and parliamentarians. Francization obligations and the issue of service in French will have to consider the labor shortage prevalent throughout Quebec, but more particularly in Montreal.

RCC will keep you informed of the progress of this very important file.