OQLF now says business signage complies with language regulation

The Office québécois de la langue française, the province’s language watch dog has concluded that a Quebec-based business signage complies with the new French language law.

The Office québécois de la langue française, the province's language watchdog, has concluded that a Quebec-based business' signage complies with the new French language law.   

"[I feel] relieved, very relieved. I was feeling like I was fighting a battle that we had over 10 years ago with the OQLF," Lynda Bouvier, the president of Party Expert, said in an interview.

"And I was confused with the direction that Quebec is taking. So, I'm very happy to have received that email. It gives me hope and it gives me the courage to continue to develop in this beautiful province."

In the email, the OQLF wrote that it had completed its analysis of the Party Expert trademark artwork and had concluded that it complies with the new provision of the Charter of the French Language and the amendments to the regulation respecting the language of commerce and business, which will come into force in June 2025.

"I believe that the OQLF needs to also be more clear moving forward with that new law," Bouvier said.

On Tuesday, Bouvier criticized the new language law after the City of Brossard did not grant a signage permit for its new location in the shopping centre Quartier Dix30 due to concerns about the English word "party."

Bouvier, a francophone Quebecer, said that her company submitted a request for a signage permit in May and that last week, the City of Brossard responded by email referencing the new language law, known as Bill 96, and referring her to OQLF.