The OQLF Says A Montreal Company Was Fined $1,500 For Not Having Facebook Posts In French
After someone filed a complaint to the language police.
The OQLF is working to keep French as the language of business. The office announced that on October 21, a Quebec court fined a Montreal-based real estate broker $1,500 for violating the language law on ads and publications.
Qiang Zhong Inc., a real estate broker, was accused of "not having written in French the commercial publications posted on its Facebook page," according to a press release. The accusation followed a complaint.
The OQLF recorded the infraction on October 23, 2019.
The office explained Zhong was in violation of Article 52 of the Charter of the French Language, which states that "catalogues, brochures, folders, commercial directories and any similar publications must be drawn up in French."
According to the OQLF, "This includes posts of this nature disseminated on websites and social media."
In its press release, the OQLF reiterated that its job is to ensure "that French is the normal and usual language of work, communication, commerce, business and administration."
MTL Blog reached out to Zhong for comment and will update this article when we get a response.
The OQLF was under a lot of pressure during the height of the pandemic, with calls to abolish the organization after a series of high-profile incidents involving Montreal-area businesses.
Meanwhile, the CAQ government has committed to expanding the organization, opening new offices in Laval, Longueuil and Drummondville so that it can "intervene more effectively where its presence in francization is a necessity," according to a September 2020 press release.
The new offices will also give the Montreal office room to "focus solely on the metropolis," the government said.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
