Bill 96 in Quebec: what your company needs to know and do.

What Bill 96 changed

The Act respecting French, the official and common language of Quebec (known as Bill 96), came into force on June 1, 2022. It affirms French as the official and common language of Quebec and strengthens business obligations in several areas.

The most visible change for SMBs: the threshold for the francization process dropped from 50 to 25 employees, an obligation in force since June 1, 2025. Thousands of additional companies must now register with the OQLF.

Language of work: strengthened rights

Workers have the right to carry out their activities in French. The law spells out what this means for the employer:

• It is prohibited to require knowledge of a language other than French for a job, unless the employer has taken all reasonable means to avoid the requirement and justifies it in the posting.
• Protection against reprisals linked to the exercise of language rights.
• Job postings, documents about working conditions and collective agreements available in French.
• The right to a work environment free of language-based discrimination.

Commerce and communications

Consumers have the right to be informed and served in French. Commercial documents available to the public (websites, catalogues, invoices, contracts) must be available in French, on terms at least as favourable as in any other language.

For companies that also serve English-speaking or international customers, this concretely means: a complete French version first, not a partial translation added afterwards.

Sanctions and pressure levers

The Charter provides for fines in case of offence, which can reach $30,000 for a company, with amounts doubled and then tripled for repeat offences. The Office also has follow-up mechanisms and can, in some cases, tie language compliance to access to public contracts or permits.

Beyond sanctions, the real stakes are operational: a credible francization process requires that employees can actually work in French, not only that documents are translated.

Where to start concretely

Most companies start with a diagnosis: which roles interact in French day to day, where the gaps are, which work situations are priorities. Then comes a plan combining training and regular practice.

A language training plan works best when it stays concrete: content tied to real tasks, short and regular sessions, and chances to practise spoken French between classes. These actions, recorded over time, also feed the analysis requested by the Office.

• List the documents, tools and communications that must exist in French.
• Identify the roles where requiring another language must be justified.
• Prioritize the employees and situations to train first.
• Check access to the free Francisation Québec courses and other public resources.