Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am director general of the Centre canadien de français juridique, which is located in Winnipeg. This is a non-profit organization that was created or established in 2010 by seven provincial associations of jurists, namely, associations from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Its goal was to offer training in legal French for stakeholders involved in the administration of justice. By this, we mean provincially appointed judges, probation officers, crown attorneys, court interpreters, and others.
As you know, language is the primary tool of law. The legal field demands a specialized language. Language plays an essential role in the proper functioning of the judicial system. When language is not mastered, errors and negative consequences pile up. The justice system user is then poorly served.
But after 150 years of judicial bilingualism in Canada, a key element is still lacking. In fact, there is no measurement or certification of legal-related language skills.
Of course, there are already measurements of language proficiency level, such as the federal public service assessments that result in scores of A, B or C, with which you are probably familiar. However, no measurement of this type exists in the legal context, that is, in legal French. Nor is there an equivalent in legal English. Nevertheless, the importance of measuring and certifying legal-related language skills is clear.
These measurements and certifications would increase the public's confidence in the language proficiency of stakeholders in the judicial system, including judges, court interpreters, crown attorneys, and probation officers.
They would make it possible to avoid situations where legal-related language proficiency leads to unfortunate situations or, in the worst case, to legal errors that could undermine the rights of justice system users.
They would also help the judicial system better allocate its bilingual human resources in order to more effectively serve francophone justice system users.
Lastly, they would make it possible to determine objectively the true bilingual capacity of judges and other stakeholders involved in the administration of justice. This information could be useful, in particular when selecting candidates for the judiciary.
The action plan of the Réseau national de formation en justice proposes to remedy the absence of measurement and certification of legal-related language skills. And so, we ask that the federal government commit, in the next action plan for official languages, to supporting the projects proposed by the Réseau national de formation en justice, including initiatives promoting training programs in legal French as well as programs for measurement and certification of legal-related skills.
Thank you. I will be happy to answer your questions.