Official Language Act - Definition and Overview

The Official Language Act of 1974, is an act of the National Assembly of Quebec which made French the sole official language of Quebec, a province of Canada. It was ultimately supplanted by the Charter of the French Language in 1977.

The legislation was drafted in an attempt to follow the recommendations of the Gendron Commission of Inquiry on the Situation of the French Language and Linguistic Rights in Quebec. The act made French the official language in a number of areas:

• Language of commercial signing (the use of French was required)
• Language of labour relations and business (businesses wanting to deal with the state had to apply for francization programs)
• Language of instruction (English language public school was restricted to children who had a "sufficient" knowledge of this language)
• Language of legislation and justice (priority was given to French texts in case of ambiguity)

See also

• Official Languages Act of Canada
• Language policy

External link

• Integral text of the Law (http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/charte/reperes/Loi_22.pdf) (French-English PDF document)
• Office québécois de la langue française - Repères et jalons historiques (http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/charte/reperes/reperes.html) (in French)