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The Quebec government's signage requirements will soon be increased under a draft regulation resulting from the law respecting Quebec's official and common language, French. In particular, companies will have to adapt their storefronts.
Published in Official Gazette Earlier this week, a draft regulation, set to be adopted later this winter, will significantly change the visual impact assessment of commercial signage, which is already regulated by the French Language Charter, also called Law 101.
Therefore, registered trademarks that fall under another language (such as Costco, Walmart, Best Buy, or Canadian Tire, for example) will be taken into account in this evaluation, which is not currently the case.
For this reason, many companies will have to modify their storefronts to respect the Charter, which already stipulates that the visual impact of the French language must be taken into account in commercial signage. Twice as much as what is written in another language
.
For example, those who want to keep their branding in English will not only have to specify that it is a hardware store or a restaurant, as is already the case, but also ensure that this description (and/or its accompanying logo) is twice as visible as the company name. .
French must be clearly dominant
What we are saying is that when we look at the global visual field, we must take into account everything that is in front of us, [y compris] Business name, which may be in another language
French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge sums up in an interview.
We look at the sheet, the window, and the façade, all at once, and say to ourselves: On the whole, the French language must clearly predominate; It must occupy at least two-thirds of the space; [et] What is written in French must be visible, legible and durable.
The draft regulation also plans to counter the practice adopted by some companies of highlighting languages other than French on the packaging of their products by registering the full mark as a federal trademark.
So that will be determinedThe product includes its container or packaging
And that'Any generic description or description of a product included in a trademark written in another language shall not prevail over that written in French
.
In addition, the draft regulation will force companies to ensure that the information published on their websites and on social media is written in French, or at least, that it is as easily accessible in French as it is in English, while this obligation has so far been limited. Just. It is applied to physical media.
These new rules will go into effect on June 1, 2025. However, there are some exceptions planned for the next two years.
Affected companies will have to pay between $7 million and $15 million to comply, according to government estimates. The minister admits this Some stores
You will have to do it Modifications
But he insists that A large majority
Of them already complying.
A long-awaited business plan
The draft regulations published this week are the result of the adoption of Bill 96 in 2022.
Since then, the Legault government has taken several measures to further promote and protect the French language in Quebec, especially with regard to immigration and higher education, Minister Roberge insisted on Friday.
However, Mr. Roberge refused to reveal when the plan of the working group on the future of the French language formed last winter, which he was supposed to announce by the end of 2023, would be published, simply saying that many of the measures included in This plan.
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