Questions about driving in Quebec

I'm a Florida boy and frankly I can't read, write or speak any French at all. But the company I worked for, a forced dispatch company, sent me into Quebec a couple times. I made a few wrong turns each time when I encountered construction detours and played h3!! getting back on course. I had some difficulty communicating with a couple of the shipping personel. But my primary concern was not being able to read the signage and how things would go down if I had to deal with Law Enforcement. Honestly I felt so out of place that I felt my CDL/livelyhood were in jeopardy while there. Does Quebec have regulations requiring Commercial drivers be able to read and understand the language? Would I have been in any jeopardy for failing to be able to converse with a Law Enforsement officer if I had been pulled over or pulled into a weigh station? I'm leaning towards not hiring on with another company that has forced dispatch to Canada. Thanks for any replies.

 

True story here. My first time into Quebec, (Canada also) I entered at Windsor and my delivery was at a KW-Paccar assembly plant in St. Therese, Quebec just west of Montreal. I did fine with all the #'d main highways and then came my exit for St. Therese. But it had construction signs and when I pulled onto the exit it is one of those that has branch exits off the main exit so of course I take the wrong branch. Well the wrong branch takes me on a main road that goes right by the southern edge of the plant's property so I go on up to the first exit a mile or so up the road and figure I'll keep working right until I make it back to the Road name of the address. Well naturally a block or so after taking the exit I encounter the No Truck Symbol signs. Long story short took a while to ever make it to the road the plant was on and when I did THAT was the road that was under construction. So I end up following the arrows on the detour signs and finally make it to this plant down in a hole. So I drop the trailer and go to the guard shack as instructed by the recieving clerk to get my MT trailer info. The guard writes the trailer # on a sheet of paper and hands it to me. I look at the paper and EVERY word on the paper is in French!! I ask him what is this paper and he says it's directions to the Drop Lot about 8 Kilometers away!! About an hour later I Finally find the address for the drop lot and it Turns out to be a Manheim Auto Auction. So I'm looking as I drive around the fenced sides of the Auction and I see no Trailers. So I pull into the staging area where they load and unload cars and walk up to the Security station and ask the guy if he knows where this drop lot is it shows their address. And he says "You're at the right place". I say "But I was looking and didn't see any trailers". He says "well what you do is come on thru the security gates and turn left following the fence line and you'll come to a Trail that leads into the WOODS on your right. Follow that Trail and the trailer is back there."

 

I must of hit the wrong Eastern town my last time in. Delivered in St. Hyacinthe and deadheaded over to Ste. Claire. Had 24 hours to kill there while waiting for my appointment. That evening and the next morning I went in to St. Anselme to a little diner/cafe for dinner and breakfast. Waitress, cook, ect.... none spoke any English. Was a nice challenge getting a burger and fries. For breakfast I was lucky enough that the waitress got one of her customers (who spoke minimal English) to help me order a basic breakfast.

Another question: What is the difference between the lead words St. and Ste. I'm guessing female and male, but that's purely a guess.