Guaranteeing the right to access justice in French

  • April 26, 2022

The French Speaking Common Law Members Section of the Canadian Bar Association is calling on (available in French only; all quotations used here are translations) the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry and the Minister of Official Languages to ensure that Canadians can be heard in the official language of their choice in bankruptcy and insolvency cases.

The CBA has demonstrated a deep and abiding commitment to official bilingualism in the realm of the law. Furthermore, it accords special importance to the linguistic duality underpinning the core values of our national identity and our legal system.

In some circumstances, the Parliament of Canada sets out the substantive rules of law, but leaves it to the provincial and territorial courts to interpret and apply the rules governing court proceedings.

“The areas impacted by this practice—including criminal law, divorce, bankruptcy and insolvency—remain entirely under federal legislative jurisdiction, even though provincial and territorial courts perform the judicial function in these areas,” explains the Section.

These institutions should therefore be able to operate in both official languages across Canada, as provided by subsections 16(1), 19(1) and 20(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In criminal cases, citizens have the right to a preliminary hearing and a criminal trial conducted in the official language of their choice. The Divorce Act also confers the right to use the language of one’s choice in legal proceedings.

The CBA Section is calling for a similar guarantee for bankruptcy and insolvency cases, especially in these difficult economic times “when an increasing number of individuals and small and medium-sized businesses are turning to the courts to restructure their debts or declare bankruptcy.”