After selling homes in Montreal for close to three decades, real estate agent Mario Conte says he’s used to dealing with paperwork — but not the kind he recently received.
The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) sent him a complaint letter about the language he uses on social media.
“I was really surprised, astonished,” Conte said. “They mentioned to me that on my social media platforms, there wasn’t enough of the French language.”
The trilingual agent says all of his printed material, from business cards to calendars, is in French and his website is in both languages.
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He never imagined that what he posts on his Instagram account would catch the attention of the province’s French language watchdog.
“We’re talking about Instagram, which has a worldwide reach,” he said. “The user has the option on a click of a button, that the post in front of them is expressed in the language of their choice. I mean, where do we really draw the line?”
Conte isn’t the only one who has been the target of OQLF complaints about social media posts.
Less than two weeks ago, Global News spoke to the owners of an Armenian bakery in Montreal, who also received a letter of reprimand over the use of too much English on their TikTok posts.
Francois Laberge, a spokesperson for the agency, says businesses and professionals operating in Quebec must respect the charter of the French language — including when they post and advertise on social media.
“The content can be posted in a language other than French, but the French version must be at least equivalent and as accessible,” Laberge said.
But constitutional lawyer Julius Grey says trying to regulate language on social media raises questions about freedom of expression and adds that it gives Quebec a bad rap.
“It’s terrible for Quebec and it’s terrible for the people because they’re insisting on things that have absolutely no purpose — not based on any sort of fact and cannot possibly harm anyone,” he said.
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