MONTREAL – When Burgundy Lion Pub received a letter from the Office Québécois de la Langue Française (OQLF) over an offending English Tripadvisor sticker, its owners didn’t hesitate to comply.
“It was pretty simple,” owner Paul Desbaillets told Global News.
“We sent an email right away to Trip Advisor for the sticker. They’re mailing it off.”
READ MORE: Quebec language police target Burgundy Lion – but not for its name
Debaillets’ willingness to comply to OQLF requests seems to be a trend.
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According to the OQLF’s statistics, the French language watch dog receives anywhere between 2,500 and 4,000 complaints a year.
Though the amount of complaints remains fairly steady, the number of businesses convicted in court has gone down over the years – from 51 in 2012 to just nine in 2015.
Businesses found to be breaking the law could end up paying anything between $500 to $1,500.
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“We have many independent businesses closing everywhere, I think resources can be put in helping those issues,” insisted Desbaillets.