Many retailers have closed their sites to Quebec traffic due to language restrictions

[ProposMontréal]

meh! De toute façon j'encouragerais pas une compagnie qui ne peux me servir en français, même en ligne. Donc "who cares" et si vous n'êtes pas content, prenez la 401, vous savez où elle vous rend.

[Né entre les rapides]

Dans une entrevue avec Paul Arcand, un relationniste de l'OQLF mentionnait que la grande majorité des chaînes étrangères entrent en contact avec l'OQLF pour s'informer des lois à respecter et faire approuver leurs documents avant l'annonce officielle d'implantation au Québec.

 

Si la majorité le font, j'ose croire que celles qui ne le font pas ne se sont simplement pas bien informées.

 

Mais alors elles s'en trouvent informées "après"--quand elles découvrent que leur site internet est bloqué au Québec. Apparemment, un certain nombre de ces entreprises préfèrent avoir un établissement physique au Québec, quitte à sacrifier l'accès à leur site internet pour leurs clients québécois. Seule une analyse plus poussée permettrait de déterminer s'il existe une relation entre le type de commerce et la décision (de ne pas traduire leur site internet), ou bien si c'est simplement un reflet de l'attitude particulière des compagnies en question. Ce n'est pas une grande question métaphysique, mais ça conviendrait peut-être comme travail de session à un cours de marketing niveau baccalauréat.

[nephersir7]

Mais alors elles s'en trouvent informées "après"--quand elles découvrent que leur site internet est bloqué au Québec.

 

Ce sont les compagnies elles-mêmes qui décident de bloquer l'accès à leur site aux internautes québécois, pas le gouvernement/OQLF.

[IluvMTL]

Another incident.

 

I dont know if these facts are true, but I found the link on the Retail-Insider site. Some retail types might read this and reinforce their prejudices about language laws and the complications of doing business here.

 

http://www.mtlblog.com/2015/02/quebec-language-police-are-forcing-a-saint-denis-store-to-close/

 

Quebec Language Police Are Forcing A Saint-Denis Store To Close

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Photo cred – yellowpages.ca

 

The OQLF has found itself a new victim. It seems that French children of Montreal are being brainwashed by an evil board game shop owner who wants nothing more than to destroy the French language in Montreal.

 

Okay so that’s not actually what’s happening, but you’d think it was judging by the OQLF’s “recommendations.” According to CJAD, the owner of a St-Denis board game shop called Chez Geeks received a letter from the language police where they listed his supposed offenses. The store owner was accused of speaking English to his customers (a crime punishable by death in many countries), and selling board games that didn’t have a French equivalent. The OQLF also said that the store owner cannot keep the English version of a game in stock if the French version is sold out. That’s insane! That means that if the store runs out of French Monopoly, the owner has to pull every other Monopoly game from the shelves until he can restock the French versions. Not just that, many of the board games come from the US, which means they do not have a French equivalent because toy manufacturers in the U.S. aren’t willing to spend all that money translating their games just get in on the Quebec market.

 

Giancarlo Caltabiano, the owner of the shop (he should probably translate his name to French) said he even took the time to print out French instructions for every game that didn’t have already have a French version, but that’s still not enough to please our grand and wise language overlords. The OQLF also demanded that Calbatiano take down his website until he can put up a french version, and since that would be too expensive, the owner has no choice but to shut the website down all together.

 

The owner insists that he does everything he can to comply to the language laws but that many of the games simply don’t exist in French. Only 20% of his game stock comes in both languages which means that if he’s forced to obey with the demands of the OQLF, he will have no choice but to get rid of 80% of his stock which would also force him to shut down his store.

 

The site is still up (for now) so be sure to check it out HERE while you can or head to the Chez Geeks store on St-Denis to support a fellow Montrealer.

 

 

 

 

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[Invité Olivier2160]

What a joke this province can be sometimes

 

Tu as raison, c'est pathétique que mes taxes paient pour cet organisme. Souhaitons que les médias s'emparent de cette nouvelle et que les gens supportent le magasin en question.

 

Des fois, j'ai honte.

 

 

Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk

[andre md]

Ouaip pas fort. Gang de cretin si c'est veridique. Ca me rappele le Pastagate.

What a joke this province can be sometimes

[andre md]

Des Ayatolah de la langue. Vraiment pas grand chose a faire que de faire chi... le peuple.

Tu as raison, c'est pathétique que mes taxes paient pour cet organisme. Souhaitons que les médias s'emparent de cette nouvelle et que les gens supportent le magasin en question.

 

Des fois, j'ai honte.

 

 

Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk

[andre md]

Giancarlo Caltabiano, the owner of the shop (he should probably translate his name to French)

 

Don't have to . I guess he call himself John like a lot of italian or Joe for guiseppe , Frank for fransisco. Tony for Antonio.

 

Pourquoi les italiens on autant honte de leurs prenom a consonnance etrangere.

[Habsfan]

The OQLF also said that the store owner cannot keep the English version of a game in stock if the French version is sold out. That’s insane! That means that if the store runs out of French Monopoly, the owner has to pull every other Monopoly game from the shelves until he can restock the French versions. Not just that, many of the board games come from the US, which means they do not have a French equivalent because toy manufacturers in the U.S. aren’t willing to spend all that money translating their games just get in on the Quebec market.

 

Est ce que l'OQLF peut vraiment faire ça? Si c'est vriament le cas, je n'en reviens tout simplement pas. Quel honte! Je paie de taxes pour supporter un organisme tel que L'OQLF! L'art de gaspiller de l'argent qui pourrait aller ailleurs de bien plus important.

 

Ça en est dégoutant!