Menchie’s spoons not in violation of language laws
By Matthew Guité
www.thesuburban.com
The OQLF has concluded that the two Menchie’s locations which were the subject of an investigation into their adherence to language laws have done nothing wrong.
The investigation began last month after the Office québécois de la langue française found fault with some English-only slogans on Menchie’s spoons at their Dollard des Ormeaux and Brossard locations, such as “This is my Mix” and “Sweet Moosic.” News of the investigation sparked controversy on social media sites and spawned the term ‘Spoongate’ which quickly began trending in and around Montreal.
Jessica Lipper, the Executive Assistant for the two Menchie’s branches owned by David Lipper, told The Suburban that they received a call from someone at the OQLF less than two weeks after the first letter informing them of the investigation. The caller, who was in charge of the investigation, told David Lipper that the case had been closed without the need for further action.
“The gentleman who’s in charge of it pretty much said that they’d gone through their investigation and they decided that we’re not in violation of anything,” she said. “They haven’t sent anything in writing yet, they told him over the phone, and David requested something in writing just so we can back ourselves up and prove we’re not doing anything wrong while still keeping everyone as happy as possible.”
Martin Bergeron, a spokesperson for the OQLF, told The Suburban that the investigation was closed without any action because the spoons which bore the English-only messages were from Menchie’s headquarters in L.A. and because the messages were engraved into the plastic spoons.
“The case was closed because of an article in the Règlement sur la langue du commerce et des affaires which states that an inscription can be solely in a language other than French if the product comes from outside Quebec and if the message is engraved, cut or inscribed into the product itself,” he said.
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