Cost concerns are being raised by both the Retail Council of Canada and legal experts.
A Montreal legal expert claims that the Quebec provincial government “grossly underestimated” the cost to businesses of complying with new French-language law requirements for storefront signage.
Even the US government is taking notice of the new regulations.
According to anecdotal evidence, the cost of making these kinds of adjustments can reach tens of thousands of dollars per location, contingent on the sign’s significance, according to lawyer Alexandre Fallon, who focuses on business compliance with Quebec’s Charter of the French Language.
According to Quebec, it will only cost companies in the province between $7 and $15 million. However, a lengthy list of big box stores with numerous locations seem to be out of compliance and require either retrofitting or entirely new signage by the deadline of June 1, 2025.
“When you consider a large location—a large store, for instance—you will see the trademark displayed across the structure in multiple locations. There may be more than one indication, according to Fallon.
It’s not just Fallon who’s worried.
Under the president’s direction, the Office of the United States Trade Representative released a news release on Wednesday stating that senior advisor Cara Morrow met with Canada’s deputy minister for international trade, Rob Stewart, to talk about, among other things.
“concerns about trademark provisions of Quebec’s Bill 96 and their potential implications for U.S. businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises.”
The new draft regulation mandates that non-French signs have twice-sized French descriptions next to them, as published in the Official Gazette of Quebec on January 10.
