Quebec's language watchdog targets iconic Burgundy Lion pub

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UPDATE: The OQLF has since said Burgundy Lion’s sign can stay. The latest update on this story can be found by clicking here.

The Burgundy Lion has stood in Little Burgundy for nearly 20 years, serving everyone from former prime minister Justin Trudeau to Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante beneath a coat of arms that reads, “Pub Burgundy Lion.”

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But that sign is now in the sights of the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF), marking the latest clash in Premier François Legault’s drive to bolster French in public life. Since sweeping new language rules took effect in June, business owners have been left wrestling with the costs and bureaucracy of ensuring their signs and branding comply.

Toby Lyle, the pub’s co-owner, recalls a French-language inspector arriving about six weeks ago. He says the meeting “soured” almost immediately when the inspector asked how to pronounce his last name.

“When I told him it was Lyle, he said, ‘That’s not a Québécois name.’”

He then asked for the inspector’s surname. He said he gave a Polish name, adding: “Oh, I’m not Québécois either.”

Lyle said he pressed: “Were you born here?” “Montreal,” the inspector said. “Then guess what: you’re Québécois,” Lyle said he told him.

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After the meeting, the inspector sent recommendations: Add French to a few missed spots on the website and on social media. Lyle agreed to those.

But then came the demand he couldn’t accept: Alter his sign to add more French.

“Pub” and “Lion” were fine, but “Burgundy,” he was told, was the problem.

Lyle pointed to the neighbourhood’s name, Little Burgundy — officially Petite-Bourgogne in French — which he says has been called by its English name for generations.

“It’s part of the cultural identity of this place,” he said. “Locals have called it Little Burgundy for many years.”

The OQLF also asked him to change the names of some whisky regions, like the “Highlands.” Lyle wrote back that these are locations “whose names cannot be translated into French.”

It’s not Lyle’s first run-in with the OQLF. During the “Pastagate” uproar over an Italian restaurant’s use of “pasta” on menus, he said he faced his own “Fish-and-Chips-gate.”

He said the office ordered him to replace the menu item with “poisson et frites,” but he says he was eventually allowed to keep the English term.

There was also the time the pub was warned that a “Recommended on TripAdvisor” sticker might breach Quebec’s language laws. He called the travel site and asked for a French version.

This dispute falls under Quebec’s new rules, Bill 96. Any non-French business name or trademark on a sign must be paired with French text that is “markedly predominant.” The requirement covers storefronts and interior displays visible from outside. Complaints, which often spark an inspection, can be filed anonymously.

• Explainer: Breaking down the key points of Bill 96

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The pub has until mid-November to submit detailed plans for any changes. Failure to comply could result in fines of up to $30,000 a day, penalties that double or triple for repeat offences.

However, he vows to fight it, arguing the Office isn’t respecting the “historical and cultural significance” of the name.

“This is a 17-year-old brand,” he emphasized. “It’s a service to the neighbourhood.”

He also took to Facebook to write about the matter, accusing the Quebec government of using language to divide people.

“We’re living in a relatively unprecedented period of global and national turmoil, and issues like the perception of English-language signage are only being perpetuated by the state government in an attempt to divide the population and distract from the real economic and social issues that need to be addressed,” he wrote.

In a statement to the Gazette, the OQLF confirmed an inspector visited the bar in July as part of its francization process and said there has been no final decision on the compliance of the display.

“Discussions have been initiated with the company,” said Gilles Payer, the office’s director of communications. “The Office is continuing to analyze the file and support the company in its francization process.”

Payer did not comment on the interaction between Lyle and the inspector.