Official Languages Committee on Nov. 22nd, 2016

[Antoine Aylwin]

As was said earlier, I know that it is done in New Brunswick.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

I'm talking about federal grants.

[Antoine Aylwin]

I don't know whether other parts of Canada have received grants for translation from English into French.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you.

I had other questions, but I will turn the floor over to my colleague with whom I'm sharing the time.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

If you wish, you can continue, Ms. Lapointe.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Okay, thank you.

Something piqued my interest. You said that Ontario and New Brunswick have an official languages commissioner, but that the Government of Quebec was not at all interested in the anglophone minority.

Did you really say that?

[Casper Bloom]

That's exactly what I said.

For years, the Government of Quebec has shown little interest in the English-speaking minority, regardless of the party in power. It has shown very little interest in minorities in general and especially in the anglophone minority.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

What would happen if, for example, people in Ontario said that they were not interested in the linguistic minority?

[Antoine Aylwin]

Please note that I said nothing to that effect.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

You have the right to say that. Okay.

However, that surprised me.

[Casper Bloom]

In Ontario, the francophone minority started to lobby for services in French a long time ago. It was done well. It is a long-standing success.

There is the Association des juristes d'expression française de l'Ontario. There are associations like that in every province, but it started in Ontario, where it has been very effective.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you very much.

I will let my colleague continue.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

I will continue along the same lines.

Ontario is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the French Language Services Act this year. This is very important to me, as a Franco-Ontarian and a lawyer working in Ontario.

It is too bad that we don't have comparative data. It would have been interesting to compare the data to see who is funding the translations in Ontario and New Brunswick. We know that there is a clear inequality. It would be good to know whether the funding for translation stopped in Quebec, but continued in the other provinces.

I want to briefly address the issue of access to justice in English in Quebec. If someone wants to go to court for a case, an offence or anything else, are there any delays? I know that we face substantial challenges in Ontario when we want to have a case in French in the superior court or the provincial court. Is it the same in Quebec when someone wants to have access to justice in English in the lower courts?

[Antoine Aylwin]

The answer is probably not the same in all jurisdictions. Ms. Lapointe pointed out that there were probably fewer services outside the major centres. I know it's not a problem in Montreal, but I went to Toronto this year when the courts resumed and I heard about the issue with delays. Ontario is not the only one experiencing delays. It is also the case in British Columbia and elsewhere in western Canada.

I can tell you that, in Montreal, the right to be tried in the language of one's choice, in French or in English, is not a problem. Resources are available for that. However, preparing the judgments can sometimes be problematic. Sometimes staff are not able to render a ruling in English. However, trials are heard in the language chosen by the accused.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

You mentioned federal statutes such as the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Competition Tribunal Act. Translation isn't a problem in that context. Even if the cases are heard in Quebec, all federal court judgments are translated.

[Antoine Aylwin]

Oh, you are talking about federal courts?

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Yes. You mentioned it earlier, and I didn't really understand what you meant.

[Antoine Aylwin]

What I meant was that the federal courts aren't the only ones ruling on those matters. Superior courts and appeal courts issue judgments related to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, for instance. The same is true of the Divorce Act, constitutional legislation, and so forth.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

That's also the case with the Criminal Code, obviously. As I see it, therein lies the rub: even though federal statutes are applicable, the judgments can't be translated.

[Antoine Aylwin]

I would go even further. I realize we aren't there, but it's false to think that civil law and common law have no bearing on one another.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

That is for sure.

[Antoine Aylwin]

You are a lawyer, but those who aren't might be under the impression that some sort of wall separates the two and that no attention is paid to what happens on the other side, but that's not the case. Judges pay a lot of attention, if only when assessing damages. Concepts rooted in common law have been integrated in Quebec, and similarly, certain civil law notions are considered in common law jurisdictions. Ultimately, judges want to issue rulings that make sense, sensible judgments, and if other courts have already ruled that certain concepts make sense, judges will find reassurance in that and make judgments that will shape the case law going forward.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you.

Mr. Généreux, it's your turn.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses.

Mr. Aylwin, would you mind telling the committee what the abbreviation SOQUIJ stands for exactly?