Office de la Langue Francaise
The Office de la Langue Française is the branch of the Quebec provincial government responsible for enforcing the French language laws and regulations imposed by the Provincial Government.The OLF was created by the sovereignist Parti Québécois government as a way to promote the French language and culture. There is a lot of animosity towards the OLF from English Canadians, some of whom strongly feel that they are discriminated against in Quebec. The OLF became widely referred to as "tongue troopers" after the American program 60 Minutes did a program on Quebec language laws and the term "Language Police" was used.
Quebec's language laws require that French be predominant on exterior business signs. Members of the OLF patrol the streets, looking for any signs on businesses that might violate the language law. There have been cases where businesses have been fined and even shut down for violating these laws.
