2023-09-01 04:00:00
The new sign of Loblaws in Quebec, the Asian supermarket chain T&T, is in the sights of the Quebec Office of the French language (OQLF) for non-respect of French.
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Founded in Vancouver thirty years ago, the food distribution chain entered Quebec in December by opening its largest store in the country in Montreal. However, while the store has the wind in its sails and is already planning the opening of its next store in Brossard, some are already worried about the fate it reserves for French.
These packaging of soups of Japanese origin do not offer customers any indication in French. Photo Martin Jolicoeur
“I went there out of curiosity and I was left speechless. No respect for the law. Huge amounts of products in Chinese only. To the point where it is often impossible to know the composition of what is offered to us,” laments a Montreal resident who decided to call us.
Indecent and disrespectful
“It’s like being in another country,” he continues. It is indecent, even disrespectful. And even more so when you realize that T&T is owned by a local giant like Provigo-Loblaws. These people cannot not know. They have lawyers. They know our laws. I’m surprised no one has sounded the alarm yet.”
These “made in Korea” paper towel packaging does not offer any information in French or even English. Photo Martin Jolicoeur
The newspaper went to the store in the Saint-Laurent borough on Tuesday. The latter is close to the headquarters of the Weston family empire (Provigo-Loblaws) in Montreal, not far from the Décarie and Metropolitan highways.
For more than an hour, we surveyed the huge commercial area dedicated almost exclusively to food, kitchen items, cosmetics and other objects, products, books or games of Asian origin.
The cosmetics and pharmacy products section includes several products whose container or packaging has no mention in French. This is the case with these creams, made in Japan. Photo Martin Jolicoeur
If French is present in the store, we have found that it is indeed quite different for quantities of products, packaged or labeled in another language (Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, etc.) than French.
The OQLF analyzes
When questioned, the OQLF confirms that it knows T&T well, having already received several complaints from citizens regarding the conformity of products offered in stores. How many complaints? On this, the Office refuses to specify.
However, their number would be sufficient for the organization responsible for the application of the Charter of the French language to decide to open a file and analyze the situation more closely.
Without presuming the conclusions of the investigations in progress, its spokesperson, Chantal Bouchard, explains that in Quebec, companies “must ensure that the inscriptions on the product, on its container or on its packaging as well as on a document or an object that accompanies it are in French”.
No way to know the origin of this product for those who only know French or English. However, a sticker has been added to the packaging to describe the ingredients of the product contained in these sachets. Photo Martin Jolicoeur
The newspaper was able to observe, during his visit, that on several occasions, products whose packaging is dominated by a language other than French had been affixed with a sticker, most often on the back, listing the list of ingredients, allergens and nutritional values in French. Is it sufficient?
The Charter and Respect
Jean-Paul Perreault, president of Impératif français, does not believe it. “It is unacceptable to market in Quebec a product that is not labeled in French, at least in a size equivalent to another language. It’s a minimum. Not only does the Charter require it, but so do the most basic rules of respect.”
The president of Impératif français, Jean-Paul Perreault. Photo archives, QMI Agency
To the same question, the OQLF is satisfied with answering this: “The inscriptions can be both in French and in another language, on the condition that no inscription in another language prevails over that which is written in French or be accessible under more favorable conditions.”
No member of Loblaws or T&T Supermarkets management contacted by The newspaper did not wish to grant us an interview, contenting himself with the sending by e-mail of a statement from the director of the Montreal store, Alexandre Chang.
“We believe, he says, in the importance of promoting and safeguarding French, just as we believe in the importance of preserving our own Asian culture here and elsewhere in Canada. Everything may not be perfect yet, but we will continue to work with our suppliers to remedy the situation and provide all customers with the best possible shopping experience.”
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