A recent ruling from Canada’s Commissioner of Official Languages found Canada Post violated francophones’ linguistic rights by using an English-only domain name.
After New Brunswick resident Chantal Carey filed a complaint last December, Commissioner Raymond Théberge determined francophones’ rights were violated because Canada Post’s French-language web address – postescanada.ca – automatically re-directs to the English address, canadapost.ca, which is the main domain name.
Théberge reiterated federal entities are responsible for ensuring both their web addresses and domains are in both of Canada’s official languages (or in the same language as the content of the web page).
Canada Post now has 12 months to fix its domain names and “ensure the active offer of bilingual service is taken into account in all institutional decisions affecting electronic media,” Théberge ruled.