Official Languages committee  He was a francophone in that case.

Official Languages committee  I've received one in 10 years.

Official Languages committee  I don't work at the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs, Mr. Godin. I don't have a handle on the questions you're asking me.

Official Languages committee  Indeed, the question you're raising directly can't be put to me. However, I'm going to take the opportunity to tell you about things I can talk to you about, as I did to clarify the comments of today's guests, who in some respects didn't draw the necessary distinctions between levels of courts.

Official Languages committee  Pardon me?

Official Languages committee  With respect, Mr. Godin, I believe that it's a bit premature to draw grand conclusions on the basis of one complaint.

Official Languages committee  With your permission, I'll provide some additional information on one final point. It's the government's purpose in Bill C-13 to ensure that rights are publicized as widely as possible, by making sure that it informs all accuseds, whether they are represented or not, of their rights under the Criminal Code.

Official Languages committee  I'd like to add a brief comment. The conclusion seems to be that this lack of complaints stems from poor knowledge of rights. However, that's an opinion. I'm not sure the Office of the Commissioner has specific figures that could support that fact. I can say that, in my 10 years dealing with language rights at the Department of Justice, to my knowledge, we only had to handle a single complaint concerning the question of access, and it involved the Attorney General of Canada, whether it was before criminal courts or civil courts.

Official Languages committee  They aren't at the Department of Justice, but at the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs.

Official Languages committee  We aren't able to do those kinds of searches. You have to talk to the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs.

Official Languages committee  We keep no data on the subject, on either anglophones or francophones.

Official Languages committee  I note some confusion in all the remarks expressed before the committee this morning. I believe it's important to clarify matters. When it comes to federal jurisdiction, the Official Languages Act and the Criminal Code, you, as parliamentarians, and we, as the government, have a certain control and can pass laws, policies and so on.

Justice committee  Yes, that was the situation in the Potvin case. There was a trial order. I think it was a bilingual trial order, but I am not absolutely sure. It may have been for a French trial. For the purposes of this argument, let us presume that it was supposed to be a bilingual trial. The judge spoke English, except when he spoke to the accused.

Justice committee  There are other provisions in section 530 and section 530.1 that use similar language. Some more specific language was at stake in the Beaulac case, which was “if the administration of justice warrants it”. Whatever the phrase is, the Supreme Court has stated that the courts would interpret these discretionary powers in the code with a view to implementing the basic right of the accused to a trial in his or her language.

Justice committee  My understanding of the witnesses' testimony is that they indeed wanted to circumscribe the exercise of discretion used by the judge. The fear, if I understood the testimony correctly, was that the judge might have recourse to circumstances unrelated to the right of the accused in making this determination.