{"id":6714,"date":"2024-08-01T19:52:33","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T23:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.millerthomson.com\/charter-french-language-quebec-publication-final-regulation-respecting-language-commerce-and-business\/"},"modified":"2025-07-10T17:44:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T21:44:37","slug":"charter-french-language-quebec-publication-final-regulation-respecting-language-commerce-and-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.millerthomson.com\/en\/insights\/marketing-advertising-and-product-compliance\/charter-french-language-quebec-publication-final-regulation-respecting-language-commerce-and-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Charter of the French Language in Qu\u00e9bec: Publication of the final regulation to amend the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In our January 30, 2024 article<\/a>, we reported the publication of a draft regulation (the \u201cDraft Regulation<\/strong>\u201d) to amend the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business<\/em> (the \u201cRegulation<\/strong>\u201d). The Regulation\u2019s purpose is to implement the Charter of the French Language<\/em> (the \u201cCharter<\/strong>\u201d), which was substantially amended by Bill 96, An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Qu\u00e9bec <\/em>(\u201cBill 96<\/strong>\u201d), assented to on June 1, 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The definitive version of this Final Regulation<\/a> (the \u201cFinal Regulation<\/strong>\u201d) was published on June 26, 2024, with most provisions taking effect on June 1, 2025<\/strong>. This Final Regulation was highly anticipated given that the Draft Regulation announced changes that could significantly affect businesses operating in Qu\u00e9bec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to feedback from numerous stakeholders, the Government ultimately backed down on multiple amendments. Despite this backtracking, significant new obligations will still take effect on June 1, 2025, and businesses should take them into account immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article outlines the key highlights of the Final Regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Regulation aims to provide exemptions to the Charter and facilitate its implementation, including by defining or clarifying the scope of various terms and expressions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While most provisions of Bill 96 are already in effect, amendments related to (1) product labelling and packaging, and (2) public signs and posters will come into effect on June 1, 2025<\/strong>. This highlights the significance of the Final Regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amendments to the Charter with respect to trademarks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is worthwhile to first outline the nature of the amendments to the Charter enacted by Bill 96, which will come into effect on June 1, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, both registered trademarks and unregistered trademarks in Canada (i.e., common law trademarks)<\/em> can benefit from an exemption that allows them to be inscribed exclusively in a language other than French in the following contexts: (1) on a product, its packaging and related documents; (2) in public signs and posters; and (3) in catalogues, brochures, folders, commercial directories, order forms,  and any other documents of the same nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bill 96 introduced new provisions specifying that the exemption for inscriptions on products and public signs and posters applies only to registered<\/strong> trademarks in Canada for which no corresponding French-language version is registered. This change has been widely discussed. Stakeholders argued that it is unrealistic that only registered trademarks benefit from this exemption for multiple reasons, including the lengthy delays currently experienced in obtaining registration in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Government has finally reversed its position on this issue and is maintaining the status quo through an exemption to the application of the Charter. While the Charter retains the requirement for trademark registration, the Regulation extends the scope of the exemption to unregistered trademarks, which is an unusual legislative drafting technique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consequently, the exemption will continue to apply to any \u201crecognized trademark within the meaning of the Trademarks Act\u201d<\/em> unless a French-language version was registered, which has been interpreted by the jurisprudence as including both registered and common law trademarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this does not resolve all issues, as new limitations to this exemption, enacted by Bill 96, will be maintained and take effect as of June 1, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, regarding inscriptions on a product, if a trademark contains a generic term or a description of the product in a language other than French, that generic term or description must also appear in French on the product or on a medium permanently attached to the product (note that the Final Regulation does not specify what constitutes a medium permanently attached to a product).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, with respect to public signs and posters, the Regulation currently sets out the obligation to have a \u201csufficient presence\u201d of French whenever a trademark is displayed outside a building (an immovable<\/em>) in a language other than French.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the new provisions of the Charter, French will need to be \u201cmarkedly predominant\u201d whenever a trademark is displayed in a language other than French on public signs and posters \u201cvisible from outside premises.\u201d Bill 96 provides similar rules for \u201centerprise names\u201d (i.e., business names) that include an expression in a language other than French, although distinguishing between a business name and a trademark is not always easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will address these two situations in greater detail below. The Final Regulation largely reproduces the content of the Draft Regulation on this subject, though with some adjustments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inscriptions on products, packaging and related documents<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Final Regulation rectifies an inconsistency in Bill 96 by clarifying that a product includes its container or packaging, as well as any document or object supplied with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Draft Regulation further defines the following terms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n