Official Languages committee  I know that we have called upon the Official Languages Commissioner to be a witness in cases that we have brought before the courts. In most cases, to pay for preliminary research and all the other expenses of taking cases to court, the only program that met our needs was the Cou

Official Languages committee  To my knowledge, legal aid is not necessarily meant for defending language rights. As I said, we have already called upon the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. The commissioner has the power to take cases to court. However, the Court Challenges Program was the one

Official Languages committee  As you know, 25% of all francophones living in a minority community in Canada are in New Brunswick. The 32 provincial organizations that we represent—and there are many more at the regional and local levels—were appalled when they heard the announcement. As I said, as regards de

Official Languages committee  Absolutely. The fact that the Court Challenges Program had to be used for some 15 issues makes that clear. There have been some gains made, but there is still much left to do. The health care sector has been mentioned in particular. The challenges are not all behind us. The dual-

Official Languages committee  Good morning, Mr. Godin.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Godin, I have before me a list of some 15 cases that we have studied. We have had the benefit of this assistance of the Court Challenges Program in some 15 cases since 1998, and had it not been for this program, we would not have been able to pay the costs. Even the lawyers w

Official Languages committee  I can state unequivocally that the lawyers who work with us do so for a very low fee. They even give their time free time to the SAANB. Imagine what it costs to take a case to the Supreme Court of Canada. As for the government, I am sure they do not pay their lawyers $35 an hour.

Official Languages committee  As I said earlier, the process is somewhat anti-democratic, because when governments appear in court against us, to counter our challenge, our belief that they are not complying with their own legislation, they have vast resources. It's like David against Goliath. We have no reso

Official Languages committee  Yes. Can you hear me?

Official Languages committee  Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of the Société des Acadiens et Acadiennes du Nouveau-Brunswick, I would first like to thank committee members for this opportunity to present our position on the Court Challenges Program and its importance to all official language

Official Languages committee  Good day, everyone.