This new effort comes more than three years after a Montreal lawyer complained about the lack of translation into both official languages (new window) for all decisions of the Supreme Court rendered before the entry into force of the Official Languages ActLLO in 1970 and available online.
THE Commissioner of Official LanguagesCLO then agreed with him by considering that the online offer of decisions constitutes a communication to the public made by a federal institution
and therefore had to be offered in French and English.
Despite the Commissioner’s decision, the Supreme Court has still not translated its decisions (new window)under the pretext that it does not have the financial, human and time resources.
Faced with this lack of measures from the court to comply with the commissioner’s recommendation, Droits collectives Québec decided to file a complaint with the Commissioner of Official LanguagesCLO. This new complaint is based on the same facts as the complaint from the Montreal lawyer.
Why then file a second complaint about a situation which has already been the subject of a decision and a recommendation from the Commissioner of Official LanguagesCLO? The answer can be found in Part Official Languages ActLLO on legal remedies.
We cannot pursue a federal proceeding under the Official Languages Act before having initiated and completed a process with the Commissioner of Official Languages, so that is what we do.
The organization says it is ready to use this part of the Official Languages ActLLO to file a lawsuit in federal court to enforce language rights. Its director general, Étienne-Alexis Boucher, ardently wishes that the highest court in the country submits to its linguistic obligations without the need for an appeal.
The general director of Droits collectives Québec, Etienne-Alexis Boucher, says he is ready to use all the remedies provided for in the Official Languages Act in order to enforce linguistic rights.
Photo: Radio-Canada
He also notes that such an appeal could potentially end up before the Supreme Court which would then be judge and party. Étienne-Alexis Boucher maintains that the Court must comply with the rules and he recalls that this court forced Manitoba to translate all of its laws into French in 1985 in order to respect its constitutional law.
According to Droits collectives Québec, the Supreme Court must respect the Official Languages ActLLO which was deemed quasi-constitutional.
The Supreme Court must respect the rule of law.
The Supreme Court of Canada declined to comment on this matter, noting that it could be the subject of an appeal
. For its part, the Commissioner of Official LanguagesCLO is unable to grant an interview on this subject since an investigation is underway
.
An initiative that receives support
This new attempt to push the highest court in the country to translate all of its decisions receives support from French-speaking jurists.
The president of the Federation of Associations of French-speaking Common Law Jurists, Justin Kingston, does not rule out the possibility of taking part in a possible appeal before the courts.
Photo: Radio-Canada
The president of the Federation of Associations of French-speaking Jurists of common lawJustin Kingstonemphasizes that the objective of the recent update of the Official Languages ActLLO was precisely to give more recourse to litigants and more teeth
to this law.
It does not close the door to taking part in a possible appeal before the Federal Court.
I think we would be interested in becoming speakers, but that would be something we would need to analyze with a little more time.
Fransaskois constitutional lawyer Roger Lepage has repeatedly defended the rights of the French-speaking linguistic minority outside Quebec.
Constitutionalist Roger Lepage believes that this issue must be considered from both a legal and political point of view.
Photo: Radio-Canada
He notes that, as things stand, a lawyer may be forced to translate certain key Supreme Court decisions handed down before 1970 that are still invoked in court. He believes that these translations would be useful for lawyers who must consult or rely on these decisions.
Without commenting on the legal value of the arguments that Droits collectives Québec could propose, Roger Lepage believes that this issue should not only be considered from a legal point of view.
The political solution would rather be for the Canadian government to grant an additional budget to the Supreme Court and demand that it translate all its old decisions.
The Fransaskois lawyer also believes that he has no problem with the Supreme Court possibly looking into this question if an appeal is filed and appealed to it.
He recalls that the highest court had to interpret the law on its own composition when the government of Stephen Harper wanted to appoint Justice Nadon to the Supreme Court. This set a precedent that could apply to a potential legal challenge.
