Quebec’s music industry under stress as it scrambles to comply with new language law

The musical instrument industry is under threat in Quebec as the deadline to comply with the province’s language regulations under Bill 96 looms.

The new rules will come into effect in just one month and Matt Coburn, the Quebec regional district manager of Long and McQuade’s, said he’s made every change possible.

The retailer’s Quebec stores have new French signage, French product descriptions and French packaging – but it’s still not enough to satisfy Quebec’s law. He said English is the “universal language” of the music industry and getting manufacturers to comply with French labelling is impossible.

“We’ve asked every company and all of them came back with no. The population is just too small. The market is too small for them to do it,” said Coburn.

From amplifiers to mouth pieces to strings, even products made in Paris are labelled in English, he said.

“If tomorrow or June 1 I pulled every product that wasn’t compliant, our stores would be empty. There would be no products,” said Coburn.

A consequence that could be devastating for music classes in schools, he said, because schools can only buy compliant products which won’t exist in the province.

Coburn said the company considered covering English labels with stickers written in French, but it would be incredibly costly and still wouldn’t solve the problem because the products are manufactured in English.

Bill 96 forces Quebec businesses to ensure their French signage is double the size of any other language, all product descriptions must be translated into French and companies with English names must make corrections.

Michel Rochette, president of the retail council of Canada for Quebec, said meeting all criteria is costly and can take years.

“When Bill 96 was adopted almost three years ago, retailers were told they would have three years to comply with the rules but the details of the rules were only laid out a few months ago – companies only have a few months to comply with something that takes years to do,” he said.

He added companies might have to spend millions just for their banners.

“Companies and retailers in Quebec, they want to respect the French language, obviously. And it’s always been the case … you have to give them some space and air and flexibility and time,” he said.

However, he added, Quebec is discouraging companies from setting up shop in Quebec as the rules are hard to follow, especially for those who don’t manufacture the products they sell themselves.

The new provisions of the language law are enforced on a complaint-based basis, and Coburn said Long and McQuade will keep selling their products until the government sends them a cease and desist.

He said it’s a risk they must take as they have no choice because otherwise companies will simply opt to not sell their products in Quebec. It’s not just a blow to his business – he fears independent music stores will fold.

He said it’s not just limited to the musical instrument industry, but most hobbies like hunting, camping and photography.

“If we can’t do it, none of the other companies can do it,” he said. “That’s the travesty, people in Quebec won’t have access to these products.”