Thank you, Chair.
Thank you to our witnesses.
I'm an Alberta member of Parliament. Back in about 2007 or 2008, a chap by the name of Mr. Caron got a traffic ticket in the province of Alberta. While this was neither federal jurisdiction or a federal court, it did end up in the Supreme Court of Canada, I believe.
I'm seeking some clarification here. Things don't seem to be adding up between what's actually happening on the ground and what is being said here, unless I'm misunderstanding what I've heard. The news reports I've seen indicate that his right to have his trial, or whatever it was, in French...even though Alberta has declared itself an anglophone province. That goes back, I believe, to decisions that were made in 1988 or something like that.
I'm seeking some clarification here because I'm a little confused. The cost to Alberta taxpayers, and all taxpayers, for that matter, to try to duplicate two complete judicial systems, would require basically all front-line law enforcement officers to be bilingual in a province where the overwhelming majority would not be bilingual. I'm wondering what some of the long-term ramifications would be of what appears to be a pathway the judicial system is going down, even at the provincial level.
Is there something I'm misunderstanding about the federal bilingual rights as outlined in the charter being confused with the provincial application of justice?