Quebec notaries warn Bill 96 translation requirement creating 2-tier system
Global News
Notarized documents such as wills, real estate documents, powers of attorney and marriage certificates, if drafted in English, must be translated to French at the client's expense.
Some Quebec notaries are crying foul over an article in the province’s controversial Bill 96.
Under the bill, notarized documents such as wills, real estate documents, powers of attorney and marriage contracts, if drafted in English, are required to be translated to French for registration, at the client’s expense.
Montreal notary Francine Lewis is worried about what that will mean for her clients, not just in the city but worldwide.
She pointed to a recent case in which she said the translation fee was hundreds of dollars.
“Five hundred eighteen dollars, including taxes to have these three pages translated by the translator,” she told Global News from her Nun’s Island office. “There’s no notary fees there, there’s no registration fees yet.”
Heather Trott, another notary, said she checked what the translation fee for a real estate contract would be.
“For example, a 12-page document, a 12-page mortgage, just to get a sense of what the fees would be around, was close to $2,000,” she said.
She added that there will also be delays of a week or more because of translations.
