On 12 August 2017 at 17:54, Farley, Peter x23353 < [email protected]> wrote:
> PMJFI here, but don't the laws in Canada require at least one alternate > language message set (French) if you do any business there? > In a word, no. There are long standing dual-language requirements at the federal level for things like consumer product packaging (hence the Canadian English phrase "cereal box French" to describe those English speakers whose competence in French comes from reading the French side of the corn flakes box at breakfast), and for government services, which these days of course includes websites and such. But these requirements don't generally apply to non consumer products like a mainframe OS. For that matter in the days of packaged Windows software, I have more than once seen dual-language labelling on the box, but with a disclaimer that the software itself runs in English only! The province of Quebec has local requirements for a lot of things to do with the French language, but it's a small enough market that they are not in a position to dictate everything to every manufacturer on the planet. But in any procurement by governments, federal or provincial, there is likely to be a contractual rather than legislated requirement for bi- or multi- (for instance, there are many more Chinese speakers living in Toronto than French speakers) lingual support , though perhaps only in the end-user part of a product. As an ISV with z/OS customers in Quebec, I have seen no expectation even in government that we offer messages or documentation in French. Having the ability to provide support in French is seen as a bonus, but even that isn't usually a requirement. On the other hand there is doubtless some pressure, implicit or explicit, to buy preferentially from local Quebec suppliers where they are available. Tony H. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
