Frenchside, a Canadian translation agency, has launched a premium Bill 96 compliance service for English-speaking companies operating in Quebec.
The service arrives one year into active enforcement of Quebec’s French-language law. Since June 2025, the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) has pursued major retailers and small businesses over signage and packaging, with fines that can reach tens of thousands of dollars per violation. Another deadline is approaching: Non-compliant products made before June 2025 may be sold only until June 2027.
Frenchside built the service on a year of practice. The agency has guided brands and industrial manufacturers through product labelling, signage, contracts, websites, and francization filings under real OQLF review. Those projects have shaped the new offering.
“In this environment, translation cannot be an approximation,” said Benjamin Beaudor at Frenchside. “A near-correct label or a misjudged sign is no longer a small detail. It is legal exposure. Compliance-grade French is a discipline, and it calls for certified experts who know the law behind every requirement.”
The new service covers the areas the OQLF examines most closely: signage, product packaging and descriptive terms, websites and e-commerce, advertising, customer contracts, employee documentation, and OQLF francization registration. Companies based outside Quebec are increasingly affected as well, often through a single Quebec employee or a base of Montréal customers.
“English-speaking companies want to operate here without friction,” added Benjamin Beaudor. “We remove the regulatory uncertainty so they can focus on growth.”
About Frenchside
Frenchside is a certified French translation agency based in Canada, serving clients in Montréal, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, and Vancouver since 2014. Its linguists are accredited by leading Canadian associations, including OTTIAQ and ATIO, and the agency is a member of GALA and the Canadian language industry association. Frenchside has completed work for more than 1,200 clients across the public, financial, industrial, and cultural sectors, providing certified translation, localization, and interpretation in English and Canadian French.
