Businesses across several Quebec cities will soon receive anonymous visits from observers evaluating whether customers can receive service in French.
The initiative, led by Quebec’s language watchdog, the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF), is part of a research study designed to measure the availability of French as a language of service in everyday commercial interactions.
Officials say the visits are meant to observe, not punish.
“It is important to clarify that this is a study and that it is in no way intended to penalize the businesses visited. The businesses will not be identified in the research report,” said François Laberge, spokesperson and public relations advisor for the OQLF.
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Instead of formal inspections, anonymous observers will visit stores, bars and restaurants to document how language is used when customers interact with staff.
“The purpose of the study is to assess the availability of French as a language of service in businesses. It is important to understand that this is not an inspection, but rather an observational visit aimed at documenting the linguistic situation in Quebec,” Laberge said.
The project is part of the office’s mandate to monitor the evolution of the French language in Quebec and report on it to the province’s minister responsible for the French language at least every five years. Similar studies were conducted in 2010, 2017 and 2023.
Observers will visit businesses in several regions, including Montreal, Quebec City, Gatineau, Laval and Sherbrooke.
In Montreal, the island will be divided into five observation zones, including areas around Boulevard Saint-Laurent, downtown west, Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Pointe-Claire and the rest of the island.
While the exact number of businesses has not yet been finalized, Laberge said many visits will take place in the Montreal region.
For some businesses, the study arrives at a time when language rules are already drawing attention.
While this research is meant to observe rather than enforce, it has left owners uneasy about the future.
At Lahmajoune, a small family-run bakery in Montreal’s Villeray neighbourhood, Charbel Hannan and his family were recently notified by the OQLF that a complaint had been filed over English-language posts on the bakery’s social media.
“We were kind of really shocked about this letter. When we received it, we thought it was a prank at first. And then we found out that it was a real letter from the OQLF. And we were kind of sad because we’re actually following up on both languages in most of our communication online,” Hannan said.
The complaint noted that English was placed more prominently than French on the bakery’s posts. “We were not looking for a division between both languages. We were really just showing off our family work and the behind-the-scenes of the family working together here. And we were not really concerned to put more French or English in front of one of the other language,” he said.
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Hannan said the upcoming OQLF visits are not a concern for his business. “Honestly, I don’t think it will affect us at all due to the fact that we’ve been already respecting the language.”
He added that the observational approach is preferable to formal penalties. “I think sending inspectors would be a better approach to the businesses, especially the small businesses like us that are family businesses. It’s less affraying than receiving a letter out of nowhere. And that looks like a fine. And you don’t even know what’s really going on.”
“They should really take care of other problems than going after small family businesses. We are born in Quebec, kids that are born in Quebec, and we are really trying our best, even though we’re not really experts in this field,” he said.
Retail industry groups say businesses largely support efforts to protect the French language, but many face practical challenges when new rules are introduced.
Michel Rochette, Quebec president of the Retail Council of Canada, said retailers understand the importance of language protections but sometimes struggle to adapt quickly when regulations change.
“First, we all agree that protecting the French language is a priority,” Rochette said. “Retailers do a lot to make sure that they comply with every detail of the regulations.”
However, he said businesses sometimes need more time to meet complex requirements related to signage, packaging and communication. When Quebec adopted Bill 96 — a major overhaul of the province’s language law — companies were initially told they would have three years to comply, but detailed rules were only released much later.
“The specific rules were not unveiled in 2022, but late 2024. But the countdown started in 2022,” Rochette said. “That meant some companies had only months to make changes that can take years to implement. In some cases, you cannot just change a signage without the authorization of the city, of the landlord, and go back to the government to have the same kind of validation. So a few months to comply with something that takes years was a bit challenging for some retailers.”
Rochette said helping businesses adapt is often more effective than penalizing them. “If the intention is to enforce the use of French, helping businesses succeed will always be more effective than just penalizing them,” he said.
The last study, conducted between 2022 and 2023, found that French was already the dominant language used when customers interacted with businesses. “Nine times out of ten, the service was spontaneously given in French,” Laberge said.
Separate research by the OQLF also suggests language can influence consumer behaviour. About 12 per cent of customers who did not receive service in French said they would not return to that business. “That may seem like a small percentage,” Laberge said, “but it represents an important share of a business’s clientele.”
Representing the English-speaking community, Talking, Advocating, Living in Québec (TALQ) has raised questions about the OQLF study and its potential impact on small businesses in English-speaking areas. Eva Ludvig, president of TALQ, said the focus on these areas could create unnecessary pressure.
“We worry about the impact on our small businesses, the mom-and-pop businesses, who are there to make a living. Many of them are run, like in immigrant areas, by immigrants themselves; they know their clientele, they’re used to dealing with them.”
She added that government resources could be better directed toward pressing issues like hospitals, schools, or support for vulnerable populations.
“Let me be clear, we support the protection and promotion of the French language. It’s very important. But it’s also important not to be petty and not to really focus in on something that’s really, really irrelevant. And we’re doing a very costly survey when the money — money can certainly go elsewhere. We know how we are in a deficit. And we know that our hospitals, our schools, the homeless, people are suffering. And the monies can be certainly spent elsewhere.”
On the streets of Montreal, opinions about language enforcement vary.
Some residents say protecting French is essential to preserving Quebec’s culture and identity.
“It’s very important to protect our language,” one Montreal resident said. “It’s our culture, our language, our history — it’s all the French language.”
Others say adapting to language requirements can take time, especially for newcomers and businesses operating in a multilingual city.
One woman who recently moved to Montreal said she understands the reasoning behind language protections but believes the transition should be gradual.
“I do understand why they are doing this and it can be useful as long as it’s not oppressive or too much,” she said.
Switching languages suddenly can be difficult for employees who primarily speak English, she added.
“I think they should give them at least some time to process everything and to put in place what could be needed to implement French language and communication.”
For the OQLF, the upcoming visits are meant to provide a clearer picture of how businesses interact with customers across Quebec.
Laberge said the study is designed to observe trends rather than single out individual companies.
By documenting the availability of French service in everyday transactions, the office hopes to better understand how the province’s official language is used in public life — and how that reality may be evolving.
