Quebec defends English Facebook page for N.Y. office

After Quebec's language watchdog ordered a women's clothing store to translate its Facebook page into French, one of the government's own Facebook pages has been discovered in English.

The Quebec government office in New York City has an official website in French and English, but on Facebook, the office posts mostly in English without translation.

The Office Quebecois de la langue franaise says language laws don't apply, because the office is located outside Quebec.

"They deal with foreign public and foreign people, and that's why they can do it in English in New York, or Japanese in Japan," said Jean-Pierre Le Blanc, spokesman for the Office Quebecoisdelalanguefranaise.

Quebec's New York office was first established in 1940 to promote the province'sinterests in U.S. sectors including trade, education, culture and public affairs.

Bill 101

The Quebec Charter of French Language requires catalogues, brochures, folders and commercial directories to be in French.

It's under that law that a women's boutique in Chelsea, Que., calledDelilah (in the Parc), was recently ordered to translate its Facebook page or face legal action.

• Quebec store owner ordered to change Facebook page to French

Sylvia Martine LaForge, a spokeswoman for the Quebec Community Groups Network, a Quebec English rights group, said the law was created in the 1970s and applies to pamphlets and signs but not social media.

She said the fact the province's New York office runs a Facebook page in English is a clear sign that social media should be exempt.

"It's a question of social media being such an unknown territory right now," said LaForge. "So if you say to me, will their Facebook page in New York now be bilingual, or will it have a French site and an English site, they might have to consider that."

Quebec constitutional lawyer Julius Grey also says he believes the case isa harsh interpretation of the languagelaw.

"I think what we have to say is that in the 1970s, when the charter of the French language was adopted, these things didn't exist," said Grey.

• Facebook exempt from Quebec's French language law, lawyer says

Grey says that until the law is amended to reflect the digital age, the government shouldn't target businesses for using English on social media.