Peter Black
March 20, 2024
Local Journalism Initiative reporter
peterblack@qctonline.com
“Le transmission t’a lâché,” the repairman said after listening to about five seconds of the violent thunka-thunka of our Inglis washer. (Who knew a washer had a transmission? It also has a clutch, the guy said).
This was the same repairman who had fixed the same washer a few years ago with a nine-dollar spring and a modest service charge. The same guy who last year made our fridge like new with a replacement part and the same reasonable house call fee.
Our washer is like part of the family, having cleaned a mountainous heap of our clothes, sheets, tablecloths and the like for nearly three decades.
The transmission replacement, while not cheap, is much, much more affordable than the new machines, which, the repairman said with thinly disguised scorn, he’s been called to repair after only two years of operation.
Where are we going with this sentimental ode to an appliance? Well, as you know all too well in Quebec, all, or at least many, roads lead to the peculiarities, put politely, of the distinct society.
In this case, we mean how the looming application of the new jacked-up language law known as Bill 96 is causing concern in the major appliance community. Call it the “appliance compliance” showdown.
Quebec government language officials recently informed businesses what needs to be done to conform to the new regulations. In the case of household appliances, as of June 2025, wording of controls as well as digital displays must be available in French.
Manufacturers are not thrilled about the new regulations – which are not actually new, the government of Jean Charest having given the idea a try in 2012 – and are not eager to comply.
The Association of Household Appliance Manufacturers submitted a brief to the government saying Quebec makes up just two per cent of the North American market and it’s not worth it for factories to retool at a high cost to accommodate that minor pool of consumers.
The association says a survey of its members indicated 90 per cent would not comply with the new regulations.
The result, observers say, will be fewer choices and higher prices for Quebec consumers who would thus be tempted to buy online instead of patronizing brick and mortar stores.
Language Minister Jean-François Roberge begs to differ, saying the global French-speaking world numbers 320 million people and “if some companies don’t want to do business in Quebec to avoid translating the instructions on their products, if they refuse to speak to Quebecers in French, we’re convinced that their competitors will take advantage of these opportunities to the benefit of Quebecers.”
The government notes that in countries such as Belgium, Poland and Portugal, appliances are available in the local language. It also says as recently as 1977, 80 per cent of appliances sold in Quebec had bilingual controls, compared to two per cent today.
The larger question, one supposes, is how this measure in any way advances the elusive goal of Bill 96 to increase the use of French in the province.
As Journal de Québec columnist Marc-André Leclerc put it, “In Quebec, everyone understands what the famous ‘on/off’ on our devices means. No one became anglicized by cooking their pizza on ‘broil.’ So why waste your time and ask for a requirement that is not demanded by Quebec consumers?
In the meantime, our washing machine keeps chugging along unilingually. We take some patriotic comfort knowing our washer was actually built in Canada, an increasing rarity these days with household appliance production consolidated in the United States and Asia.
If eventually our washer does give up the ghost and we want to get another Inglis, well, the brand still exists, but the company has been owned for decades by Michigan-headquartered global appliance giant Whirlpool.
Of course, if, as seems likely, Whirlpool rejects the Quebec bilingual controls rules, we’ll be shopping for another brand.
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