Consumers will ultimately pay the price for Quebec's new language rules, experts say

Quebec consumers will have fewer choices and be paying more for everything from coffee makers to washing machines if the government follows through with its revisions to the province's French language charter.

This is according to legal and industry experts who have told CBC News that the requirements published as a draft regulation in Quebec's Official Gazette on Jan. 10 are not economically feasible for companies big or small to comply with.

"These are requirements that are unique in the world," said Alexandre Fallon, a lawyer who specializes in business compliance with Quebec's Charter of the French Language.

"The calculus becomes: do I modify the design of my product and my product packaging for this relatively small market?"

The revisions to the French language charter are associated with Bill 96, de‐ signed by the Legault govern‐ ment to protect French. There are already concerns that the new regulations for signs could mean heavy costs to retailers. The minister in charge, Jean-François

Roberge, is adamant that Quebec will go ahead with its program, despite any com‐ mercial downside.

Eliane Ellbogen, a lawyer and trademark agent, cites home appliances as an ex‐ ample. Typically ovens, dish‐ washers and refrigerators sold in Quebec have inscrip‐ tions emblazoned on them in English, but now buttons that say "bake," "rinse" or "tem‐ perature" will need to be in French, she said.

"For certain industries, it would not be commercially viable to comply," Ellbogen said.

"Essentially, it would be impossible to create a sepa‐ rate supply chain solely for the Quebec market because that market is so small com‐ pared to the general North American or European mar‐ kets."

To top it off, there is no grace period for products with permanently embedded descriptions that are neces‐ sary for the use of the prod‐ uct. That means all items for sale in Quebec, online or in stores, will need to be com‐ pliant 15 days after the final regulation is published, she said. That could be anywhere from a couple months to a year from now.

Ellbogen said her Mon‐ treal law firm, Fasken, is con‐ sidering challenging the draft regulation in court because it "severely restricts the way trademarks can be used on products, packaging, la‐ belling, public signage and commercial advertising in Quebec."

She said she has clients who are considering leaving the Quebec market altogeth‐ er.

Experts agree panies will leave

When interviewed by CBC News, both Fallon and Melis‐ sa Tehrani, a partner with the international law firm Gowl‐ ing WLG who specializes in advertising, marketing and regulatory compliance, said the same thing.

Embossed words, like those found on appliances or a car's dashboard, are cur‐ rently exempt under Que‐ com‐ bec's language charter as long as they don't concern safety, but that's all going to change if the government ap‐ proves this draft regulation, Tehrani said.

"There are concerns among industry groups, par‐ ticularly those in the appli‐ ance and electronics indus‐ try, that companies may withdraw from the Quebec market entirely," said Tehrani.

WATCH | CBC breaks down new French-language regulations for signs:

Items as simple as homecleaning supplies may disap‐ pear from Quebec's shelves because the "on/off" em‐ bossed onto the spray nozzle has to be in French, she said.

And a Quebecer can't just order these products directly from the company or through Amazon, Tehrani ad‐ ded, because there is a provi‐ sion preventing non-compli‐ ant products from being sold online in Quebec.

Meagan Hatch, vice-presi‐ dent and managing director of the U.S.-based Association of Home Appliance Manufac‐ turers, said this draft regula‐ tion ensures the vast ma‐ jority of appliances will no longer be compliant, and they can't easily be adapted or replaced.

"We urge the government to show flexibility and to work with the industry," she said.

Law covers keyboards, software, packaging

As for products like com‐ puter keyboards, those in En‐ glish can be sold only if the product is available in French as well, Fallon said. But when it comes to software, the En‐ glish version must not have more features than the French version if it is to be sold in Quebec, he said.

Packaging will also need to be in French, and that may be particularly challenging for luxury brands that pro‐ duce high-end boxes, bags or wrappings for their products, according to Dzaner Dzafik of ODD Consultants.

He is a Montreal free‐ lancer who specializes in product development, manu‐ facturing and marketing. En‐ suring Quebec consumers have products in French is a good idea, he said, but it will come at a substantial cost.

If a mascara colour is called "azure mist" and trade‐ marked, it's acceptable under current regulations. But the new rules require it to be translated, Dzafik said, and that's just the tip of the ice‐ berg. He cited particular con‐ cern for those goods already on the market or in retailers' storerooms.

Reshipping all that mer‐ chandise to the factory for relabelling and repackaging will be expensive and harm‐ ful to the environment. Small companies may go out of business, sending their mer‐ chandise to landfills, while bigger companies may ship their stock out of province, he said.

"You're basically asking a company to relaunch its goods," said Dzafik.

All the experts CBC News spoke to agreed that those companies that do stay in Quebec will pass costs onto the consumer. There will also be less competition, meaning prices will go up.

"As Quebec consumers, we will likely have fewer choices, fewer products on shelves, fewer services that are offered here in Quebec as a direct result of these leg‐ islative amendments," said Ellbogen.

Because of that, Tehrani said, "ultimately, it's the Que‐ bec consumer who will pay a higher price whether it's quite literally through higher prices or diminished avail‐ ability."

Language minister says goal is to strengthen French

But French Language Min‐ ister Jean-François Roberge isn't backing down.

In a statement to CBC News, he said, "the main ob‐ jective of the regulation is simple: To strengthen the French linguistic landscape of Quebec and increase the presence of French in busi‐ nesses."

The consultation period on the draft regulation ended on Feb. 24, and he said the Quebec government re‐ mained open to suggestions and concerns from busi‐ nesses.

These businesses will also be supported by Quebec's French language watchdog, the OQLF, to successfully comply with these new rules, he said.

He said there are 350 mil‐ lion French-speaking people worldwide and Quebec is an advanced society with a vast, lucrative market.

"If some companies do not want to do business in

Quebec to avoid translating the instructions on their pro‐ ducts, if they refuse to ad‐ dress Quebecers in French, we are convinced that com‐ petitors will seize the oppor‐ tunities, to the benefit of Quebecers," Roberge said.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of the French Language is‐ sued an additional state‐ ment, saying an OQLF study found that in 1977, approxi‐ mately 80 per cent of appli‐ ances offered their inscrip‐ tions in French. That number dropped to 33 per cent in 2003, 11 per cent in 2011 and less than one per cent in 2021.

The OQLF also found that household appliances are available in national lan‐ guage in several countries around the world, including Mexico, France, Argentina, the Netherlands, Portugal and Poland.

Just like these other na‐ tions, having appliances with French inscriptions "is an ac‐ quired right that has been lost over time with free trade."

"It is entirely legitimate to demand that Quebecers be able to have indications in

French on their household appliances."

Furthermore, the state‐ ment adds, the proposed regulation does not require that the inscriptions be en‐ graved on the products. The manufacturer could simply supply stickers, in French, in‐ side the box containing the product.

Ellbogen, the lawyer and trademark agent, said that's not clear at all in the way the legislation is currently written and that the government needs to clarify. Even if stick‐ ers satisfy the new require‐ ments, they would still be a burden on companies and pose an environmental prob‐ lem.

Tehrani, on the other hand, the lawyer who spe‐ cializes in advertising, said stickers could prove "invalu‐ able" for product manufac‐ turers and could present a "practical and cost-effective solution that balances lin‐ guistic compliance with effi‐ ciency in manufacturing processes."