XPost: can.politics, qc.politique, ont.politics   
   From: {~_~}@nyet.ca   
      
   At least you know the Liberal party won't be appealing this judgement.   
   You wouldn't have that under Marois and her PQ party.   
   'Quebec language police' - time to look for more honest jobs.   
   ________________________________________   
   Canadian Press | April 10, 2014 | National Post   
      
      
   Quebec language police dealt blow as court rules major retailers don’t   
   have to change their storefront signs   
      
      
   MONTREAL — A judge has ruled that major retailers do not have to modify   
   their commercial trademark English names into French, as the province’s   
   language watchdog had hoped.   
      
   A Quebec Superior Court justice ruled Wednesday that businesses that   
   have storefront signs with their trademark name in a language other than   
   French do not contravene the French Language Charter.   
      
   Several multinationals took the province to court after they were told   
   by the language watchdog to change their names or risk running afoul of   
   the rules governing the language of business in the province.   
      
   The Office quebecois de la langue francaise wanted the companies to   
   change their signs to either give themselves a generic French name or   
   add a slogan or explanation that reflected what they sold.   
      
   But the judge hearing the case ruled in favour of the major retailers —   
   a list that included Best Buy, Costco, Gap, Old Navy, Guess, Wal-Mart,   
   Toys “R” Us and Curves.   
      
   “Public signage by the plaintiffs of their trademarks uniquely in a   
   language other than French, when there is no French version of the   
   trademark, does not violate the Charter of the French Language or the   
   laws respecting the language of commerce and business,” Justice Michel   
   Yergeau wrote.   
      
   The companies operate a combined 215 outlets in the province.  They had   
   argued they complied with the language laws as they stand.  They   
   suggested the watchdog was offering a different interpretation of the   
   laws, which had not been formally changed in years.   
      
   In 2012, the retailers sought the court’s opinion as to whether the   
   government had the right to make such a demand.   
      
   While the language law states the name of a business must be in French,   
   it generally hasn’t applied to trademark names.   
      
   The judge said it’s not up to the courts to modify language rules that   
   have remained unchanged for two decades.   
      
   Yergeau wrote that while trademarks fall under federal jurisdiction,   
   it’s up to the Quebec legislature to “take the lead” if it considers the   
   French language is suffering because of English trademarks.   
      
   “The choice is a political function and not one of the judiciary,”   
   Yergeau wrote.   
   The watchdog had suggested that a store like Wal-Mart, a household name   
   on the retail scene in Quebec with no French equivalent, could change   
   its signage to “Le Magasin Wal-Mart.”   
      
   Some companies have changed their business names here.   
      
   For example, Kentucky Fried Chicken is known in Quebec as Poulet Frit   
   Kentucky, so KFC is commonly known here as PFK. Starbucks is known as   
   Cafe Starbucks Coffee. And after a series of firebombings in the early   
   2000s, Second Cup coffee shops added the words “Les cafes” to their signs.   
      
   Yergeau wrote that nothing prevents firms from adopting a French name of   
   their own volition.   
   “Many (companies) do already on a voluntary basis, while at the same   
   time contributing to the preservation of the French language in Quebec,”   
   the judge wrote.   
      
   The issue is part of a broader battle as the provincial government   
   constantly seeks to ensure the preservation and development of French in   
   the province — the only place in North America where the majority speak it.   
      
   The watchdog embarked on an awareness campaign in late 2011, calling the   
   situation involving the big stores worrisome.   
      
   They suggested coming up with a sort of descriptive slogan or line in   
   French or using a French/English sign, with the French component being   
   more predominant.   
      
   As the tension mounted, a French language rights group called on a   
   boycott of the retailers in question.   
      
   Legal action was triggered after the watchdog sent letters obliging   
   retailers to change their signs, followed by legal letters that   
   threatened to revoke government “francization certificates” and dole out   
   hefty fines.   
      
   Those certificates, renewed every three years, mean companies are in   
   compliance with language rules and can benefit from certain government   
   grants. All of the plaintiffs had received their certificates   
   previously, with no concerns raised about their storefront signage.   
      
   In his ruling, Yergeau also said the watchdog may not suspend, revoke or   
   refuse to renew certificates or attempt to impose any other sanction   
   stemming from the trademarks.   
   Language watchdog Jean-Pierre Le Blanc said it’ll be up to the attorney   
   general’s office to decide whether to challenge the ruling.   
      
   The government has 30 days to decide whether to appeal the decision.   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)