It seems there’s been a blitz of complaints made to Quebec’s language watchdog recently about local businesses’ French or lack thereof.
Ladysmith auto shop Jer’s Auto went public about it, sharing a screenshot of the email received from the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) warning the business owners that their Facebook posts did not conform with the Charter of the French Language.
The problem, as it was described, was that the light-hearted promo posts being shared by Erin Davis, wife of owner Jeremy Williams, were not available in French. Since joining Williams’ business in an official capacity earlier this spring, Davis has taken to beefing up the business’s social media presence. Her posts were barely full sentences in English – simple jokes promoting the business’s services, intended to crack a smile.
But this doesn’t fly in Quebec. Thanks to Bill 101, which in 2022 was strengthened by the CAQ’s Bill 96, French is the exclusive language of work, commerce, justice, and administration in this province, with few exceptions.
As social media is now a place of commerce, Davis’ posts had to be as available in French as they were in English. It’s not the first time Facebook posts have solicited an OQLF warning in the Pontiac. Boutique Shawville Shooz received one such letter in 2023. Others have likely received similar warnings since. But most, understandably, want to keep their head down to avoid a fine. THE EQUITY has put in a request for information on exactly how many warnings have been issued in the Pontiac since the beginning of the year, and will share this information once it is received.
The French language and culture need to be protected, and Pontiac’s own unique iteration of this French language and culture even more so. But is policing individual business Facebook posts really the way to do this? Forcing anglophone businesses to Google translate their social media posts is not going to strengthen or protect any linguistic culture. It is also a waste of resources in today’s online world where anybody can do this translation work on their own, in seconds, with a simple click of a button.
The money going towards paying OQLF officers to receive, investigate, and follow-up on complaints would be better spent in any number of ways that would directly improve the life of people in the Pontiac. It is frustrating to see tax dollars going towards policing the language in which local businesses talk to their community, which in the case of Jer’s Auto, is largely anglophone, when provincial roads remain riddled with potholes, and the province refuses to give a pay increase to Outaouais nurses to keep our local hospitals staffed.
While social media platforms have become spaces of commerce, they are still primarily used as social spaces where neighbours can engage with neighbours, have conversations about their communities, and process their shared worlds. In small rural communities like the Pontiac, local businesses, often made up of one or two people, are baked into this social conversation.
We’re in an election year. All parties are going to have to articulate their stance on how exactly they plan to protect French language and culture. We know that the Parti Québecois voted against Bill 96 in 2022, arguing it did not go far enough. Charles Milliard, the new leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, has said he is not opposed to using the notwithstanding clause to renew Bill 96, though his party would lessen the impact of this law on businesses and allow immigrants more than six months to learn French.
THE EQUITY will be sure to push for clarity on what exactly this vision entails.
