DCHP-2

sign law DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• n. — Quebec, Politics, French relations

  provincial regulations in Quebec that mandate the use of French on signs.

  Type: 1. Origin — The term sign law refers to a series of regulations concerning the use of French on signs in Quebec, starting with Bill 22 (see the 1975 quotation). The Parti Quebecois, elected in 1976, enacted Bill 101 in 1977. The Bill made the use of French on signs mandatory. In 1983, the Supreme Court judged that Bill 101's sign law was contrary to freedom of expression. In 1988, the Quebec Liberals compromised by enacting Bill 178, which stipulated that signs may "be both in French and in another language, provided they are intended only for the public inside the establishments and that French is markedly predominant" (see Canadian Encyclopedia, s.v. "Quebec Language Policy", and "Bill 178"). In 1993, Bill 86 was passed; it modified the previous Bills, stating that "public signs and posters and commercial advertising must be in French. They may also be both in French and in another language provided that French is markedly predominant" (see Canadian Encyclopedia, s.v. "Bill 86"). Chart 1 shows the Canadian dimension even in form alone, with twice as many hits as in the US. Chart 2 shows, the dominance of the term, which is of national scope as the French-English relations affect the country as a whole, in Quebec.
  See also COD-2, s.v. "sign law", which is marked "Cdn informal".

  See also: language police  tongue trooper  notwithstanding clause  Bill 101  Charter of the French Language  

  • 1975  A group protests language Bill 22 in Quebec City. Sign law begins Nov. 18. 
  • 1978  NEWS SUMMARY QUEBEC SIGN LAW Tuesday, July 04, 1978 There has been no rush to comply with Quebec's regulations requiring commercial signs to be in French only, at least not in predominantly English-speaking sections of Montreal where one merchant said he was waiting for the Government to notify him by letter to change the sign. 
  • 1988  When Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa reacted by tinkering with the sign law, ruling that interior signs could be in English and French but that exterior advertising must be in French only, it seemed another small thing, a petty thing. 
  • 1996  It was Bourassa who, in 1988, invoked the notwithstanding clause in the Constitution yes, the Constitution that Quebecers claim doesn't apply to them when the Supreme Court ruled that Quebec's anti-English commercial sign laws were unconstitutional. 
  • 1997  ()  We read that due to an alleged breach of Quebec's sign laws, they were contemplating imposing a fine of between $500 and $1,400 against a Montreal firm called L. Berson & Sons that makes Hebrew gravestones. Apparently the Quebec sign laws require that English or other languages on store signs be two-thirds smaller than the French characters. 
  • 2009  Envision Dieppe with its own language police patrolling the city, cameras and measuring tapes in hand. Will the size and color of the lettering become an issue? It eventually did in Quebec, creating an entire bureaucracy for the sole purpose of enforcing the sign laws and harassing those who stood against it. 
  • 2016  Challenge to Quebec sign laws headed to Court of Appeal
    Business owners guilty of Bill 101 violations will challenge constitutionality, relevance of language law
    Close to a dozen small business owners found guilty of violating Quebec's sign laws have been granted leave to challenge the decision before the provincial Court of Appeal. Last year, a Quebec Court judge fined 23 businesses for having English-only websites, English-only packaging and English-only signs between 1998 and 2001.