Quebec's Bill 96 modified the Charter of the French Language - five things you need to know for the 1 June 2023 deadline (update)

30 September 2024 6 min read

At a glance

On 1 June 2022, an Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec (Bill 96) received royal assent and became law.
Bill 96 brought about significant changes to the Charter of the French Language, commonly known as Bill 101 (Charter).
Some of these changes came into force immediately, while others will come into effect progressively over a period of three years.
The following article provides an overview of the five requirements under the Charter that came into effect on 1 June 2023 and of how businesses and employers can comply with these updated requirements.

Update: 30 September 2024

On 26 June 2024, the government of Quebec published a 'Regulation to amend mainly the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business' (Regulation to Amend).

The purpose of the Regulation to Amend is to clarify the rules established in the Charter, as amended by, Bill 96 and the 'Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business', regarding trademarks, as well as inscriptions on products and related documents in languages other than French.

The Regulation to Amend also provides additional guidance on language requirements for business names on public signs, inscriptions on posters, and language used in commercial advertising.

Additionally, it establishes further guidelines for contracts of adhesion in Quebec.

Our previous alert sets out more information about the key dates when the amendments come into force.

The new requirements

Contracts of adhesion (ie contracts that are pre-determined by one party and not negotiated) must be presented in French first before parties jointly choose to be bound by a version drawn up in a language other than French.

Bill 96 requires that a company submit the French version of the contract of adhesion, a document related to a contract of adhesion or standard form contract first. Only after the adhering party has examined the French version can the parties jointly choose to be bound by a version drawn up in a language other than French.
Examples of contracts of adhesion include insurance policies and contracts, terms of service, franchise agreements, and any other consumer or commercial agreement predetermined by one party.
In accordance with the Regulation to Amend, a document related to a contract of adhesion includes:

a document attesting to the existence of the contract, such as an insurance certificate;
a document whose attachment to the contract is required by law, such as a resiliation or resolution form; or
a document that otherwise constitutes an ancillary document.

Similar obligations will exist when drafting certain contracts for real estate transactions and for invoices, ‎receipts, acquittances (waivers) and other documents of the same nature.
The Regulation to Amend specifies that the requirement to issue a French version of a contract of adhesion entered into via telephone is fulfilled if the adhering party has stated the express wish to enter into the contract in a language other than French, provided that: (a) the adhering party was explicitly invited to consult the applicable standard clauses in French using a technological means, or (b) the contract is to take effect immediately and the adhering party does not have the technological means to access the applicable standard clauses in the contract.

The Regulation to Amend stipulates that the obligation to provide a French version of a contract of adhesion, concluded via technological means, is satisfied by providing the adhering party with the applicable standard clauses in French. In other words, this entails making the standard terms available to the contracting party in French (eg emailing the standard clauses; having the terms available on a website and sending the adhering party the link, etc).

Employers must translate employment application forms, documents relating to conditions of employment and training documents produced for staff.

Documents created post-Bill 96: Since 1 June 2022, three types of documents that are newly created must be available to employees in French (or bilingual, as long as the French version is available on terms that are at least as favourable):

employment application forms;
documents relating to conditions of employment; and
training documents produced for the staff.

Documents which existed pre-Bill 96 (before June 2022): Employers were granted a one-year deadline, which expired on 1 June 2023 to translate existing documents belonging to one of these three categories of documents if they were only made available in a language other than French before Bill 96 came into effect.
Examples of documents that needed to be translated by 1 June 2023 included:

job postings, job application documents;
employment policies, documentation regarding employee benefits, equity plans and agreements, etc;
training policies and procedures, employee handbooks, etc.

Deadline for employees to request a French translation of their employment agreements if they were drafted solely in a language other than French prior to Bill 96.

Existing employees who were provided with an English-only version of an employment agreement before June 2022 (the date of coming into force of Bill 96) had until 1 June 2023, to request a French version of that employment agreement. If the employee requested the French version within that time period, the employer had to provide it as soon as possible, at no cost to the employee. If there is / was a discrepancy between the French text and the English text of the translated employment agreement, an employee could invoke either text.
Please note that this requirement did not apply to any fixed-term employment agreements that expired no later than 1 June 2024.

Contracts entered into with the civil administration, and related documents have to be drafted in French.

The term 'civil administration' includes the government of Québec, Québec government bodies and agencies, corporations fully owned by the government, most municipalities, school bodies, and bodies in the health and social services network.
Written documents sent to the civil ‎administration to enter into a contract or ‎agreement, related to a contract or ‎agreement to which the civil administration is ‎a party, and written documents sent under ‎such a contract or agreement have to be drawn ‎up in French. A version in another ‎language may be attached to the French version.
Exceptionally, this rule does not apply ‎where the civil administration enters into a ‎contract outside of Québec.
The use of French is also required when a legal person renders services to the government.
Applications for a permit or other authorisations have to be drawn up exclusively in French. A failure to use French in dealings with the ‎government could result in suspension or ‎revocation of a permit or other authorisation ‎issued by the government.
For example, companies that bid on public contracts, or which must apply for permits or other authorisations issued by the Québec government, should keep in mind that documents and communications sent to the civil administration generally have to be in French.

The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) may identify businesses with as few as five employees in certain key sectors, to which Francisation Québec could offer French language learning services.

The OQLF may identify businesses with as few as five employees in certain key sectors to which it will offer French language learning services provided by Francisation Québec, a new agency of the Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration.
A company that implements French language learning services provided by Francisation Québec is required to allow its employees who are unable to communicate in French to receive those services in class, online and in the workplace.

We strongly recommend that businesses with operations in Québec review their contracts, policies, employment agreements, and all documentation listed above now and consider translating them into French in order to comply with these requirements.

For more information about French language requirements in Québec, please contact one of our DLA Piper (Canada) LLP Québec lawyers.