Quebec’s language police are, literally, pulling food from people’s mouths.Montreal restaurant Mama Khan, which is known for mouthwatering Pakistani cuisine in Montreal’s St. Denis district, was slapped with an enforcement order from the provincial Office Québécois de la Langue Française (OQLF) to shut down a popular ‘pay it forward’ program that allows customers to prepay meals to less fortunate members of the community.The reason? Vouchers to promote the program aren’t printed in French. And neither are the award-winning restaurant’s social media pages promoting it..Under its so-called ‘Pay it Forward’ program, every $5 donation adds a free meal voucher to a designated wall in the restaurant, which are redeemed for free meals for the hungry. Since it was implemented in during the 2023 ice storm, Khan’s has prepared more than 700 hot meals for less fortunate members of the community.But that violates Section 52 of the Quebec Charter aimed at protecting French language rights. The same one that has repeatedly been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada.But not everyone was a fan of the idea. The OQLF reportedly received an anonymous tip and decided to act against the family-owned establishment.The restaurant posted the letter on its Instagram page with the slug: “Peux-tu croire ça?” Or, “Can you believe this?”.”According to section 52 of the Charter, it is against the law to make a commercial publication available to the public on a website or social media in a language other than French when the French version is not accessible under at least equivalent conditions.”Office Québécois de la Langue Française.As per Google translate, the letter reads: “The Charter of the French Language contains rules concerning commercial publications. We would therefore like to inform you that, according to section 52 of the Charter, it is against the law to make a commercial publication available to the public on a website or social media in a language other than French when the French version is not accessible under at least equivalent conditions.”The restaurant has reportedly contacted the OQLF to come up with a compromise but says it has to halt the program until it can print out French vouchers.In addition to being forced to pull down the offending vouchers, designing and printing new ones will reportedly cost more than $400, owner Abdul Rashia Kahn told local media. “My reaction was kind of surprised that we were reported to the government saying that we are not bilingual,” he told Global News. “I wasn’t aware too much of the law. It’s my first time running a business.”Instead, needy people can just walk into the restaurant and ask for something to eat without a slip of paper, he said.Government representatives said they didn’t target the meal program per se; just the social media pages used to promote it. Which actually sounds even more draconian.Maintenant!.This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
Quebec’s language police are, literally, pulling food from people’s mouths.Montreal restaurant Mama Khan, which is known for mouthwatering Pakistani cuisine in Montreal’s St. Denis district, was slapped with an enforcement order from the provincial Office Québécois de la Langue Française (OQLF) to shut down a popular ‘pay it forward’ program that allows customers to prepay meals to less fortunate members of the community.The reason? Vouchers to promote the program aren’t printed in French. And neither are the award-winning restaurant’s social media pages promoting it..Under its so-called ‘Pay it Forward’ program, every $5 donation adds a free meal voucher to a designated wall in the restaurant, which are redeemed for free meals for the hungry. Since it was implemented in during the 2023 ice storm, Khan’s has prepared more than 700 hot meals for less fortunate members of the community.But that violates Section 52 of the Quebec Charter aimed at protecting French language rights. The same one that has repeatedly been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada.But not everyone was a fan of the idea. The OQLF reportedly received an anonymous tip and decided to act against the family-owned establishment.The restaurant posted the letter on its Instagram page with the slug: “Peux-tu croire ça?” Or, “Can you believe this?”.”According to section 52 of the Charter, it is against the law to make a commercial publication available to the public on a website or social media in a language other than French when the French version is not accessible under at least equivalent conditions.”Office Québécois de la Langue Française.As per Google translate, the letter reads: “The Charter of the French Language contains rules concerning commercial publications. We would therefore like to inform you that, according to section 52 of the Charter, it is against the law to make a commercial publication available to the public on a website or social media in a language other than French when the French version is not accessible under at least equivalent conditions.”The restaurant has reportedly contacted the OQLF to come up with a compromise but says it has to halt the program until it can print out French vouchers.In addition to being forced to pull down the offending vouchers, designing and printing new ones will reportedly cost more than $400, owner Abdul Rashia Kahn told local media. “My reaction was kind of surprised that we were reported to the government saying that we are not bilingual,” he told Global News. “I wasn’t aware too much of the law. It’s my first time running a business.”Instead, needy people can just walk into the restaurant and ask for something to eat without a slip of paper, he said.Government representatives said they didn’t target the meal program per se; just the social media pages used to promote it. Which actually sounds even more draconian.Maintenant!.This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
