The following is a synopsis of a presentation given at BLG's Marketing Law News Flashes Conference held on February 28, 2013:
Québec is currently the only Canadian province to have legislation prohibiting advertising directed to children under 13 years of age. Previously not much guidance was provided on the issue by the Québec Consumer Protection Office, but it has now published a Guide on advertising directed to children, which provides merchants, advertisers and lawyers with helpful guidelines and examples. To determine whether an advertisement is directed at children, one must generally consider: (1) the advertisement's design; (2) the general context of the advertisement's presentation; and (3) the general impression given by the advertisement. The Guide sets out all of the many specific criteria that must be considered in such determination. According to the Guide, even if an advertisement is placed in an adult- only publication (e.g., a financial newspaper), it does not necessarily mean that the advertisement will not attract the attention of children. Hence, it is important that those responsible for the conception and issuance of advertisements in Québec keep the Guide in mind.
Businesses also need to remember that, in Québec, the Charter of the French Language ("Charter") imposes a number of requirements on them. For example, public signs and posters must generally be in French. Where commercial signs are in French and another language, the French must be markedly predominant. The Office québécois de la langue française ("Office") has taken the position that the use of an English-only trade-mark as a business name on a commercial sign is acceptable provided that the trade-mark is registered in Canada and is accompanied by a French generic term that describes the activities, products and/or services offered by the business. In the Fall of 2012, the Office began enforcing its policy by sending notices to businesses requiring them to modify their signs and threatening the imposition of fines and the suspension of previously issued francization certificates. A number of major Canadian retailers have objected to the Office's policy claiming that it would force them to dilute their trade- marks and the matter is currently before the courts in Québec.
In December 2012, the Government of Québec introduced Bill 14, which proposes to amend various provisions of the Charter. As of the date of publication of this Blog, the Bill is still at the consultation stage. The proposed amendments aim to strengthen the powers of the Minister responsible for the application of the Charter, as well as the Office, and to amend certain provisions of the Charter applicable to municipalities, educational institutions and businesses.
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