Popular popcorn franchise Kernels has been fined $2,500 by Quebec’s French language watchdog for not having any French on its website.
The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) released a statement Thursday saying it fined the company after someone filed a complaint back in December 2021 because there was no French version of the site for one of its Quebec locations.
On April 13 of this year, Kernels Popcorn “pleaded guilty” to violating section 52 of Quebec’s Charter of the French Language, which stipulates that “commercial publications must be written in French. This includes publications posted on a website,” a press release from the OQLF says.
In a statement sent to Global News, the OQLF said it contacts companies several times to encourage them to comply with the charter, and if the business doesn’t respond despite the government’s intervention, the file is transferred to the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP), who then takes charge of assessing the possibility of “criminal proceedings.”
The franchise was eventually issued a statement of offence served by the DPCP and paid the fee.
Kernels Popcorn has locations across Canada, in B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec.
An updated version of its website is now available in both languages. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
“The Office québécois de la langue française ensures that French is the normal and usual language of work, communications, commerce, business and administration in Quebec,” the statement from the OQLF said.
“It enriches terminology and offers linguistic tools and services. It also ensures compliance with the Charter of the French Language and monitors the evolution of Quebec’s linguistic situation.”
This marks the language watchdog’s sixth infraction of 2023.
The other Quebec businesses that have been fined in recent months are manufacturing company Fermos Inc. for $1,500, Second Cup for $1,500, aerospace product supplier MDR Aéro Inc. for $3,000, Kim Phat grocery store for $1,500, and Korean restaurant chain Ganadara for $1,500.
The businesses violated a mix of sections 51, 52, and 58 of the language charter.
The guidelines for the respective sections go as followed:
Article 51: Offered on the market a product (product itself or container, packaging, document or object accompanying this product, including instructions for use and warranty certificates) bearing inscriptions that were not written in French or another language prevailed over French.
Article 52: Has not written a commercial publication (leaflet, catalog, brochure) in French, including on a website.
Article 58: Did not display in French or clearly predominantly in French. Displayed, outside a building, a trademark in a language other than French, without the sufficient presence of French being ensured on the premises.
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