Justice committee  I would like to refer you to a Supreme Court of Canada case. I'm talking about Société des Acadiens et Acadiennes du Nouveau-Brunswick v. Canada, from 2008. The issue you raised is twofold. The RCMP is a special organization. The Supreme Court has established that the RCMP is a

Justice committee  Section 2 covers freedom of expression. The federal government has some tools at its disposal despite the limitations imposed by provincial jurisdiction. The Criminal Code can specify what is part of the process. This is crucial for human rights when it comes to sentencing heari

Justice committee  Yes, such as bail hearings. In the case of such rights, the Evidence Act is applied differently because some evidence is presented that would not be admissible to the trial and that has a major impact on the sentencing. I was giving you examples of evidence being rejected in cas

Justice committee  I attended the Caron hearing before the Court of Appeal of Alberta. I listened carefully and I took some notes on the interpretation. My colleagues were making their case, and I was listening and taking note of the translation. The situation was so bad that the judges stopped the

Justice committee  Yes, but our mandate does not apply to all human rights.

Justice committee  In the case of Quebec, I want to point out that the applications we receive do not involve the Criminal Code, but rather section 133 of the Constitution Act, 1867. There's a debate around what exactly the section means. It stipulates that any pleading or process before Quebec or

Justice committee  To answer your question, we receive applications involving criminal matters. Yes, the Criminal Code should be improved.

Justice committee  The first thing that should be done is to clarify what applies to trials and what applies to communications and services. I'll give you an example. We receive applications, but we can't accept them all because they don't always involve a constitutional issue. Nevertheless, the a

Justice committee  They don't want to address constitutional issues. That's practically the mantra in some provinces, and so the charges are withdrawn.

Justice committee  To that, I would say the Criminal Code is quasi-constitutional. It's a matter of creating conditions for people who speak a language. It's a matter of identity. The Beaulac decision says clearly it's an issue of recognition. Section 16(3) of the Charter comes into play. It's a m

Justice committee  Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen of the committee, as the legal advisor to the Language Rights Support Program, I am here to answer the question that was put to me, that being the relationship between the Criminal Code and the objective of the Language Rights Support Program. Th