Charter of the French Language


The Charter of the French Language, also known as Bill 101, is a law in the Canadian province of Quebec defining French, the language of the majority of the population, as the official language of the provincial government. It is the central piece of legislation that forms Quebec's language policy and one of the three principal statutes upon which the cohesion of Quebec's society is based, along with the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and the Civil Code of Quebec. The charter also protects the Indigenous languages in Quebec.
First introduced by Camille Laurin, the Minister of Cultural Development under the first Parti Québécois government of Premier René Lévesque, it was passed by the National Assembly and received royal assent on August 26, 1977. The charter's provisions expanded upon the 1974 Official Language Act, which was enacted during the tenure of Premier Robert Bourassa's Liberal government to make French the official language of Quebec. Prior to 1974, Quebec had no official language and was subject only to the requirements on the use of English and French contained in article 133 of the British North America Act, 1867. The charter has been amended more than six times since 1977, each of which met with controversy in Quebec. Most recently, in 2022, the charter was amended by the adoption of the Act respecting French, the Official and Common Language of Quebec, commonly known as Bill 96.

Objective

The preamble of the Charter states that the National Assembly resolves "to make French the language of Government and the Law, as well as the normal and everyday language of work, instruction, communication, commerce and business". It also states that the National Assembly shall pursue this objective "in a spirit of fairness and open-mindedness" and recognizes "the right of the First Nations and the Inuit in Quebec, the first inhabitants of this land, to preserve and develop their original language and culture".

Titles

The Charter consists of six titles and two schedules:
  • Title I includes nine chapters pertaining to the status of the French language, which:
  • * declare French the sole official language,
  • * define the fundamental language rights of persons, and
  • * define the status of French in the parliament and the courts, the civil administration, the semipublic agencies, labour relations, commerce and business and language of instruction.
  • Title II includes five chapters pertaining to linguistic officialization, toponymy and the francization of the civil service and businesses.
  • Title III establishes the Office québécois de la langue française and defines its mission, powers and organization.
  • Title IV establishes the i=.
  • Title V and VI define penal provisions and sanctions and transitional and miscellaneous provisions.

    Status of the French language

In order to achieve the goal of making French the "normal and everyday language of work, instruction, communication, commerce and business" and ensure the respect of francophone Quebecers' language rights, the Charter contains a number of key provisions and various regulations.

Official language

In the first article of the Charter, French is declared the official language of Quebec.
The French language was previously declared the sole official language of Quebec with the adoption of the Official Language Act in 1974. Quebec is constitutionally obligated nonetheless to provide English services in the courts and the National Assembly of Quebec.

Fundamental language rights

The fundamental French-language rights in Quebec are:
  1. The right to have the civil administration, the health services and social services, the public utility enterprises, the professional corporations, the associations of employees and all enterprises doing business in Quebec communicate with the public in French.
  2. The right to speak French in deliberative assemblies.
  3. The right of workers to carry on their activities in French.
  4. The right of consumers to be informed and served in French.
  5. The right of persons eligible for instruction in Quebec to receive that instruction in French.

    Parliament and courts

French is the declared language of the legislature and courts in Quebec. Section 133 of the Constitution Act, 1867, still in effect, nonetheless requires that bills be printed, published, passed and assented to in French and English in the Parliament of Canada and the Legislature of Quebec.
French or English may be used by any person before the courts of Quebec. Parties may request the translation in French or English of the judgments by the courts or decisions rendered by any "body discharging quasi-judicial functions".
The French text prevails over the English one, in case of any discrepancy, for any regulation to which section 133 of the Constitution Act, 1867 does not apply.
The first version of the Charter provided that laws be enacted only in French. In 1979, the related provisions were rendered inoperative by a ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada in Attorney General of Quebec v. Blaikie; however, Quebec responded by re-enacting in French and in English the Charter of the French Language, leaving intact articles 7 through 13.
In 1993, the Charter's provisions related to the language of the legislature and courts were made compliant with the Supreme Court's ruling.

Civil administration

The government departments and agencies are designated by their French name alone, and all administrative documents are drafted and published in that official language. All communications by the administration with other governments and legal persons, between departments and internally inside departments, are conducted in the official language.
A person must have knowledge of the official language appropriate to the office for which he or she is applying.
A non-official language may be used on signs and posters of the administration, but only for health or public safety reasons.

Semi-public agencies

Public utilities and professional orders must provide service in the official language and use it for their internal and general communications. Professional orders may issue permits only to persons who have a knowledge of the official language appropriate to the practice of their profession.

Labour relations

Nineteen articles of the Charter provide for the general goal of making French the language of labour relations and ensuring each worker's right to work in French.
Employers are to draw up written communications to all or part of their staff, including after termination of the employment relationship, in French. They are also required to publish offers of employment, transfer or promotion in the official language. An employment contract must be provided in French first to a candidate if it falls under the definition of contracts of adhesion. It is only after the parties have examined the contract's French version that they may choose to be bound by its version in another language. Freely negotiated employment contracts may be drawn up in another language than French at the parties' express wish.
In particular, an employer cannot dismiss, lay off, demote, transfer or take reprisals against, or impose any other penalty on, a staff member on the sole account of he or she being exclusively French-speaking or of possessing insufficient knowledge of a non-official language, or because that member demanded the respect of his or her right to work in French. As a job requirement, knowledge or a specific level of knowledge of a language other than French is prohibited, unless the nature of the duties require it.
The i= arbitrates in case of disagreement over the necessity of knowing a non-official language to perform a given work. The burden of the proof is on the employer, who must satiety each the following criteria in order to meet the requirement of having taken all reasonable means to avoid requiring knowledge or a specific level of knowledge of a language other than the official language:
  1. The employer assessed the actual language needs associated with the duties to be performed;
  2. The employer made sure that the language knowledge already required from other staff members was insufficient for the performance of those duties; and
  3. The employer restricted as much as possible the number of positions involving duties whose performance requires knowledge or a specific level of knowledge of a language other than the official language.

    Commerce and business

Product labels, their instructions, manuals, warranty certificates as well as restaurant menus and wine lists must be in French. Other languages may be used, provided French's prominence is at least equivalent.
Catalogues, brochures, folders, commercial directories and other such publications must be in French. All software must be available in French unless no such version exists.
Signs and posters must be in French, and if they include any additional language, the French must be markedly predominant. A recognized trademark within the meaning of the Trademarks Act may appear exclusively in a language other than French unless a French version has been registered. Where a trademark is displayed outside a building exclusively in a language other than French, a sufficient presence of French must also be ensured.
A number of exceptions to the general rules for commercial products, signs and advertising:
  • Products destined exclusively for export;
  • Educational products for the teaching of a language other than French;
  • Cultural and ideological companies, groups, signs, and literature ; and
  • Companies that sign an agreement with the OQLF permitting an exemption from the francization requirement.
In some parts of Quebec, like Montreal, bilingual signs with French and English text of equal sizes can be seen, although French is sometimes predominant on these signs. For example, French is located to the left of other languages so that it is read before the non-French text when reading left to right.