Vanity plates fine in any language

Whatever else one can say about Quebec’s French Language Charter, it has never curbed personal free speech in languages other than French.

Now that the province is finally introducing vanity licence plates — at $250 a pop, a great way to raise revenue for the government, on a voluntary basis — it makes perfect sense that the messages on them can be in English and other languages. These are personal messages, on individuals’ private vehicles. They will be subject to the usual considerations banning profanity, incitement and the like, and advertising will be prohibited. (Note to anyone who thinks they can get away with a bad word spelled backward: the government is on to you, that’s specifically prohibited.) When the plates are eventually also made available for commercial vehicles, they will have to be in French, however.

All of this is consistent with Bill 101. The sign laws apply to commercial messages, and there are other rules mandating the use of French that apply to communications in larger workplaces or government bodies.

But that hasn’t stopped Parti Québécois MNA Pascal Bérubé from getting his knickers in a twist. Allowing English and other languages on the plates is “unacceptable,” he says. Ayoye.

What’s next, cracking down on English conversations in the métro?

At least Bérubé need not worry about encountering the dreaded “Bonjour-Hi” on a licence plate. It’s over the maximum sevencharacter count.