(Quebec) The Legault government allows government departments and public bodies to communicate in English with companies based in Quebec for another two years when they deem it necessary.

It introduces an exception to a new rule of the Charter of the French language which obliges the State to communicate only in French with legal persons established in Quebec.

Under its Bill 96 passed last year, the Legault government decided to require “exemplary” and “exclusive” use of French by the state in its communications, with a few exceptions. He has set himself the goal of ending the “bilingualization of the state” with this reform of Law 101.

The Superior Council of the French Language had shown in 2019 that 39% of staff members of ministries and organizations “having written interactions with legal persons or businesses established in Quebec sometimes use a language other than French in this type of interaction”. It is 63% in Outaouais and 51% in Montreal, added the organization which no longer exists today.

Nevertheless, “the Administration may use a language other than French only in the exceptional cases provided for by the Charter of the French language” – for the English-speaking community for example – “or by its regulatory framework”.

But this “regulatory framework” has just been fixed. The Minister responsible for the French language, Jean-François Roberge, submitted the Regulation respecting the language of the Administration to the Council of Ministers. This regulation will come into effect on June 1. It “specifies the legal framework applicable to the Administration so that it can fully satisfy its duty to set an example”.

Above all, “it provides for new exceptions to the general principle which is the exclusive use of French,” reads Mr. Roberge’s brief to the Council of Ministers.

The State can thus use English with a legal person established in Quebec when it is “necessary to prevent a communication drafted only in the official language from compromising the accomplishment of the mission of the body of the Administration and that the latter has taken all reasonable means to communicate only in the official language”.

Similarly, “a document transmitted to a body of the Administration by a legal person or a company to obtain a permit, another authorization of the same nature, a subsidy or another form of financial assistance […] may be written in another language than French” when “the transmission of the writing in French only compromises the accomplishment of the mission of the body of the Administration and that the latter has taken all reasonable means to ensure that the writing is transmitted only in the official language”.

These two measures are referred to as “sunset provisions”. They will be in effect for two years. They “cease to have effect on June 1, 2025”, specifies the Regulations.

At what point is an organization’s “mission fulfillment” compromised and would allow the use of English? We ignore it.

“In light of the comprehensive applicable legal regime, each organization will need to adopt a directive that will specify how it will exercise its duty to set an example. He will indicate the nature of the situations in which he intends to use a language other than French, “continues Jean-François Roberge’s brief submitted to the Council of Ministers.

The idea of ​​using only French in government communications with legal persons established in Quebec has been debated for a long time and has been the subject of numerous reports.

This is a measure that was part of Bill 101 when it was adopted in 1977, but which had been lifted by the Liberals in 1993. In 2001, the Larose commission on the future of French recommended that it be reinstated. The Landry government passed a law the following year to, among other things, implement this recommendation. However, the measure never entered into force; the Charest, Marois and Couillard governments maintained the status quo. The Legault government had promised that the measure would be implemented in June 2022, but the operation had been postponed for a year, in the context of the adoption of Bill 96.