MONTREAL -- Quebec's language police carried out over 5,000 inspections and verifications over the past year, according to a document filed in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
The Annual Report of Office Quebecois de la Langue Francaise and Toponymie Commission was tabled by Minister of Justice and Responsible for the French Language Simon Jolin-Barrette. The report documents steps taken over the previous year to strengthen and promote the French language within the province.
Among the highlights were the 5,025 visits made by the OQLF during a year-long stretch between 2019 and 2020, which were carried out as the result of complaints and an operation related to trademarks in the summer and fall of 2019.
Jolin-Barrette also pointed to an operation aimed at informing companies about new trademark rules requiring descriptive French terms on all signs containing a non-French trademark. As of March 31, a total of 7,257 businesses had registered with the OQLF, with 83 per cent of those obtaining a certificate recognizing their compliance.
The report also touched on the evolution of the French language, indicating that six new words had been formally recognized. Those words were related to fields such as e-commerce, cryptocurrency and data processing.
Aside from French, the report also promised the government will continue to formalize more Indigenous place names as part of an effort to preserve cultural heritage.
On Monday, the provincial government announced plans to strengthen the French language via a $5-million investment into new OQLF offices and the hiring of more language inspectors.
