The Quebec Office of the French Language (OQLF) finally backtrack in the Burgundy Lion pub file, after asking the owner of the restaurant to add “elements in French” to its brand.
“After analysis, it turns out that the display conforms. We have communicated with the company to inform it, “said the OQLF in an email sent to The press.
Photo Charles William Pelletier, special collaboration
The owner of the Burgundy Lion pub, Toby Lyle
The OQLF had asked the owner, Toby Lyle, to add “elements in French” to the brand of his restaurant, on the grounds that the word “burgundy” was not French. Request to which Toby Lyle had refused to submit, recalling that the word “Burgundy” refers here to the historical name of the district, Little Burgundy (Petite-Bourgogne).
Read the article “The Burgundy Lion Pub pinned by the OQLF”
The organization also admitted that it had been “premature” to ask the owner to modify his brand, since “the decision on compliance had not yet been taken”.
“This is a regrettable situation and we are sensitive to the reactions it has aroused, both from the company and the public. We will make every effort so that such situations do not happen again, ”certified the OQLF.
It was when leaving the gym, Thursday, that Toby Lyle discovered dozens of failed messages and calls on his cell phone, as well as the OQLF email teaching him the good news.
“I’m really happy,” he said in a telephone interview with The press.
It was really thanks to the media and the mobilization of the public that they saw that what they asked for was ridiculous.
Toby Lyle, owner of the Burgundy Lion pub
Regarding the names of the Whiskys regions present on the restaurant map, such as “Highlands” or “Lowlands” – which had also been judged not in accordance with the OQLF -, the organization told the press that the file was still being analyzed. But Toby Lyle was able to speak with an OQLF agent, who certified him that he would not have to modify them.
