I do not agree with that. I think it would be relevant to provide some examples. You must be familiar with the Caron case in Alberta. There was also the case of a man from Tracadie-Sheila, in my riding, who found himself before the courts without having been informed of all of his rights. Unless I am mistaken, you stated that it was the judges' responsibility to inform accused persons of their right to be heard in the language of their choice. This man from Tracadie-Sheila found himself before an English-language court, and his trial took place in English. When he challenged this and asked for a trial in French, the judge replied that he believed the accused was proficient enough in English for the trial to be held in that language and that everything had gone well. Who is he to make that call?
This case posed such a significant problem that the Commissioner of Official Languages conducted an investigation. If I remember correctly, his finding was surprising: it was as though the law did not protect the accused. However, that is not what you just told us. You stated that individuals have a right to a trial in the official language of their choice no matter where they are in Canada. This right does not date back only to 1978. I do not want to hear about the $40 million or $60 million that were provided in funding; I want to talk about the law.
Earlier, I deliberately mentioned that I am not a lawyer. I am a regular Canadian with no training as a lawyer. If I were to find myself before the courts, the judge would decide whether I go to jail. We are talking here about courts of law, not about whether a province should decide whether trials should be held in English or in French. There are two official languages in our country, and it is subject to the Criminal Code of the federal government.
I can provide you the documents of this case where the judge told the accused that he believed the accused was sufficiently proficient in English and the trial would go ahead, and then he sentenced the accused to four years in jail. This was so problematic that the Commissioner of Official Languages conducted an investigation into the case.
I would like to know your opinion on that. What went wrong in the case?