Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Grammond, thank you for being here with us today.
I am married to an anglophone with whom I discuss things in English, as well as in French. Some people I speak to could believe that I am bilingual because I manage relatively well in English. In my opinion, however, I am far from bilingual. I don't have the vocabulary that would allow me to discuss anything from nuclear energy to dogs, or many other topics. Obviously, there are topics about which I could not hold a conversation, because I don't have the necessary vocabulary.
At the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada, there is a brief form that asks people to answer four questions that basically ask them if, without further training, they would be able to read or understand court documents in French. For my part, I would answer “yes”, obviously. All of these questions are asked in English and in French. I could answer “yes”, because I can read the questions and understand them without additional training. I would be able to understand most of what is in English, even if that is not my first language.
That said, does the fact that I answered “yes” to these questions make me a bilingual person?
In the form, it says that in order to meet the linguistic requirements for potential judges, their working knowledge of both languages may be evaluated. That is what it says in the documents we were given. If that is the only means used to determine if a lawyer is bilingual enough to become a judge, I have some serious misgivings.
Are there much more complete procedures used to analyze the quality of the French or English of the candidates before they are appointed?