Most OQLF complaints related to service in Montreal

The offices of the Office québécois de la langue francaise (OQLF) are seen in Montreal on Nov. 21, 2024. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)

New data published by the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) shows most complaints it received are related to being served in a language other than French in Montreal establishments.

The French-language watchdog reported receiving 10,371 complaints between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025, a new record in the last decade. The OQLF said complaints went up by 140 per cent in five years.

“This is a new record and a clear indication of Quebecers’ growing concern for the sustainability of the French language and their commitment to its protection,” said a spokesperson for the OQLF.

Since the Coalition Avenir Quebec was elected in 2018, complaints to the OQLF have been steadily rising while the government ramps up French-language protections through legislation like Bill 96, adopted in 2022.

Between 2016 and 2017, the OQLF received 2,973 complaints.

The number was relatively stable until 2021-2022, when the OQLF received 6,292 complaints. In 2023-2024, that number jumped to 9,125 before this year’s all-time high.

Of those, 40 per cent were related to service language, 24 per cent concerned commercial documents including websites and job postings, and 18 per cent had to do with signage.

Only six per cent of complaints were connected to language used in the workplace and five per cent fell under “others.”

The vast majority of complaints (75 per cent) came out of Greater Montreal, which includes Montreal, Laval, Lanaudière, the Laurentians, and the Montérégie.

Stéphane Beaulac, professor of constitutional law at the Université de Montréal and the Directeur de l’Observatoire national en matière de droits linguistiques, said it’s typical for Montreal to see the most complaints as cities attract more people from outside Quebec.

The number of complaints out of the metropolis have been relatively stable over the years.

Eight per cent of complaints came out of Quebec City, three per cent from the Eastern Townships, and four per cent from the Outaouais.

The rest of Quebec’s regions account for four per cent of complaints and another six per cent came from outside Quebec.

Bill 96’s impact

The OQLF notes that 22 per cent of complaints were unfounded and 36 per cent of cases were resolved. A quarter of all complaints necessitated an “incentive intervention” — where the OQLF offers solutions to conform to the Charter — and 10 per cent warranted a warning.

The organization said francization processes were started in three per cent of cases and it had to drop four per cent of complaints.

“The Office’s approach is based on supporting businesses. When handling a complaint, the Office communicates with the person or organization alleged to have committed the breach to explain the nature of the breach and supports them in their efforts to ensure the necessary corrections are made within a reasonable time frame,” said a spokesperson for the OQLF in an email.

By doing so, the OQLF said it can correct most violations without resorting to legal proceedings.

Beaulac said the OQLF’s data means Quebec’s common language reforms are working.

He notes that though the total number of complaints went up, the rest of the breakdowns have been consistent over the years.

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“One would think that with those extra incentives to protecting the French language, that there would be less complaints, but at the same time, Bill 96 provided more teeth to the system,” he said. “It has actually provided the means for regular folks for anyone in regard to some of the obligations imposed by the scheme, the legislation to take action and actually file in complaints.”

But Beaulac stresses that having more complaints doesn’t mean the law isn’t being respected. He points out that no complaints ended up before the DPCP, unlike in 2017-2018 when two per cent did.

He said despite using the notwithstanding clause to push Bill 96 forward, the government is enforcing a “soft power” as most cases end up getting resolved.

“The incentive and the scheme for implementation and enforcement actually means that it never comes push to shove,” said Beaulac. “It is resolved beforehand, you know, upstream and not downstream to a penal procedure.”