The senior advisor in the office of the US Trade Representative, Cara Morrow, expressed concerns regarding Quebec’s Bill 96, adopted on May 24, during her meeting on Wednesday with Canadian Deputy Minister of International Trade, Rob Stewart.
Advisor Morrow shared the concerns of the United States “regarding the provisions of Law 96 relating to commercial signage and their potential consequences for American businesses, particularly those of small and medium size”, we can read in a press release published Wednesday which summarizes the issues discussed during the meeting.
Law 96 provides in particular that by 2025, all businesses in the province must ensure the clear predominance of French on their signs. French will in fact have to occupy “twice as much” space as English, or any other language.
The Minister of the French Language, Jean-François Roberge, explained on January 12 in an interview with TVA Nouvelles that a company whose name is English will have to add a slogan or a French-speaking description in larger lettering.
A business called “Cool kids” could thus display “Cool Kids Clothing”, as long as the French word is large enough.
The law also provides that all products on sale on store shelves have a description in French. It thus tightens the regulations, by preventing, for example, a company from registering the entire labeling as a trademark.
