Vanity plates exempt from language charter
French-only law doesn’t apply for personal messages
French, English, Spanish or even Italian: any language will be acceptable on personalized licence plates when they start appearing on cars in the province sometime next month.
Last month, Quebec approved vanity licence plates for cars, motorcycles, scooters, trailers, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles last month. Starting July 27, vehicle owners can apply on the SAAQ’s website for plates bearing a two- to eight-character message on their licence plates with letters and/or numbers. The plates will be delivered within three to six weeks.
When the Couillard government adopted the law last month, it came with a provision that the plates would have to respect Quebec’s charter of the French language. However, Mario Vaillancourt, a spokesperson for Quebec’s auto insurance board, the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), said that part of the law can’t be enforced. The SAAQ has sought out a legal opinion and concluded the charter does not apply in this case.
“Because it’s the owner of the car that is choosing the message, he can do it in the language of his choice,” Vaillancourt said. “These are personal messages that are being displayed. The charter only applies to communications by businesses.”
The SAAQ’s decision was criticized by Parti Québecois culture critic Pascal Bérubé this week, who called the situation “unacceptable.”
On Twitter on Wednesday, he asked Transport Minister André Fortin why he’s allowing the SAAQ to blatantly go against the wishes of the National Assembly.
The PQ appears alone in speaking out on this issue; language hawk groups the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal and Impératif français declined to comment on Thursday.
Vaillancourt said the SAAQ still reserves the right to refuse any applications for plates with messages deemed inappropriate.
“We are working on a list of words and phrases that would not be acceptable,” Vaillancourt said.
He added that employees will also have the means to analyze applications and filter out messages in other languages that could be deemed offensive.
The new plates do not require the SAAQ to hire additional staff, Vaillancourt said.
All vulgar words will be rejected, as will messages inciting violence or breaking the law. Any message with the word “police” will also be rejected.
People won’t be able to use the plates to advertise because brand names will also be banned.
It will cost $250 to buy a personalized licence plate, with an annual renewal fee of $34.50.
The project is expected to bring in $20 million in additional revenue to the government within five years.