by Timothy Edward, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

The signage at Pub Burgundy Lion became the latest target of the Office Québécois de la langue française (OQLF) this week before deciding to let the Montreal establishment keep its longstanding sign, unaltered.

OQLF inspectors had taken issue with the lack of “markedly predominant” French on the 17-year-old sign, as per the more strict regulations imposed in recent years by Quebec’s updated language law Bill 96.

The pub’s owners argued that the words “pub” and “lion” are bilingual, while “Burgundy” should have been exempt from the English vs. French quota because it’s a reference to the neighbourhood where the business is located: Little Burgundy.

Burgundy Lion has initiated a francization process for its website ahead of the OQLF’s Nov. 12 deadline for compliance (missing this deadline could result in fines of $3,000 to $30,000 per day), though pub owners also contested the OQLF’s criticism that their website’s listing of whiskey regions in the U.K. should be French.