Québec’s Bill 96: What It Means for Your Company Website

What is Bill 96 anyway?

In May 2022, Québec’s National Assembly passed Bill 96, an amendment to the Charter of the French Language (Bill 101). The law, officially known as “An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec”, aims to promote the use of French in the province and affirm that French is the common language of the Québec nation.

Bill 96 has a number of implications for businesses that operate in Québec, including:

• A requirement to use French in all internal and external communications. This includes things like emails, letters, and marketing materials.
• A requirement to have a majority of French-speaking employees. This requirement will be phased in over time, starting with 50% in 2023 and increasing to 75% by 2028.
• A requirement to offer all goods and services in French. This includes things like products, websites, and customer service.

Businesses that do not comply with Bill 96 could face fines of up to $100,000.

What can my business do to prepare for Bill 96?

There are a number of things that businesses could do to prepare for Bill 96, including:

• Review your internal and external communications to ensure that they are all in French. This could involve hiring a translator or using a translation service.
• Start planning to increase the number of French-speaking employees. This could involve hiring new employees, providing language training to existing employees, or outsourcing some of their work to French-speaking companies.
• Make sure that your websites and other online content are available in French. This could involve using a translation service or hiring a web developer to translate the content.
• Develop a plan for how you will provide customer service in French. This could involve hiring French-speaking customer service representatives or using a translation service.

By taking (some of) these steps, your business can ensure that they are compliant with Bill 96 and avoid potential fines.

How can GlobalLink GO help?

GlobalLink GO is a multilingual website translation service that can help businesses comply with Bill 96. GlobalLink GO’s technology automatically translates websites into multiple languages, including French. This means that businesses can easily make their websites available in French without having to hire a translator or invest in expensive translation software.

GlobalLink GO Enterprise also offers a number of features that can help businesses improve their SEO, including:

• Hreflang tags. Hreflang tags are used to tell Google about the different language versions of your website. This helps Google to show your website in the correct search results for users who are searching in different languages.
• Multilingual sitemaps. Multilingual sitemaps help Google to crawl and index your website’s content in multiple languages.
• Translation memory. Translation memory is a database of previously translated content. This can be used to save time and money when translating new content.

By using GlobalLink GO, businesses can easily comply with Bill 96 and improve their SEO.

In addition to the information provided above, here are some additional tips for businesses that are preparing for Bill 96:

• Start planning early. Bill 96 is a complex law, and it will take time to comply with all of its requirements. Businesses that start planning early will have a head start and will be less likely to make mistakes.
• Get help from a professional. If you are not sure how to comply with Bill 96, consider getting help from a professional. There are a number of companies that specialize in helping businesses comply with language laws.
• Stay up-to-date on the latest changes. Bill 96 is a complex law, and it is subject to change. It is important to stay up-to-date on the latest changes so that you can ensure that you are always in compliance.

By following these tips, your business can easily comply with Bill 96 and avoid potential fines.