Indeed, the situation varies greatly from one region to the next, and even within provinces. People in certain regions tell us things are going well, that the accused are well aware of their rights. In other regions, this is much less the case. The situation greatly varies. It is not uniform across the country, and that's a problem.
Some efforts were undertaken to change codes of conduct in order to compel attorneys to inform their clients of their rights. For example, changes were made to the attorney code of conduct in New Brunswick and Ontario. Even though the judge must make sure that the accused are informed of their rights, it is just as important that attorneys inform their clients as to whether or not they have the necessary linguistic skills to represent them during the trial that might take place in French or in English. There has been some work done in that sense.