Evidence of meeting #80 for Official Languages in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was rulings.
A video is available from Parliament.
Counsel, Official Languages Directorate, Public Law and Legislative Services Sector, Department of Justice
Unfortunately, Mr. Chair, I do not know the names of the members of the selection committee.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Thank you. In that case, I will ask you to send the names to the clerk.
Liberal
Marco Mendicino Liberal Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
I would like to say something else in this regard.
This is important, and I agree on that.
I want to again provide some context. This government has gone to great lengths to improve the openness and the transparency of our public appointments process. I know that this is something this committee cares about, and I know that when it comes to the appointments of important public officers, such as the one you refer to, we are prepared to continue co-operating with this committee and to have a transparent process so that all Canadians can be confident about it.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Thank you very much, Mr. Mendicino.
Mr. Arseneault, you have the floor.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to go back to what Mr. Généreux mentioned at the end of his intervention, that is to say the action plan, which has a budget of $40 million over five years. This action plan rests on two pillars: information and training. Is that correct?
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Can you give me some idea of what this means in terms of training, from one end of the country to the other?
Liberal
Marco Mendicino Liberal Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
Absolutely.
I alluded to the importance of the minister being in dialogue with the commissioner for judicial affairs when it comes to implementing spot-checking of or audits on official languages capacity. We have also asked the commissioner to develop new assessment tools so that we can stay on top of the proficiency of our judges who are on the bench. In other words, that means developing new tools to assess the existing capacity of our superior courts to provide services in both official languages.
The minister has been engaged in dialogue with her provincial and territorial counterparts to ensure they are also looking at ways to enhance access to justice in our provincial courts, which is where most of the legal work occurs, not in our appellate courts and certainly not in our Supreme Court.
The bulk of the work will be done in provincial and superior courts.
Those are some examples of where we're using the funds under the current action plan to ensure that the degree to which people can access justice in both official languages remains very high.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Thank you.
What part of this five-year budget will be allocated to training? In order to accomplish what you described, do you know if you will need $10 million, or $20 million? Has that decision already been made?
Liberal
Marco Mendicino Liberal Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
I hope you're not asking me to disclose details from the next budget. I think my colleague the Minister of Finance—
Liberal
Conservative
Liberal
Marco Mendicino Liberal Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
There is a process, and several commitments. We work with all of our partners and with the actors in the justice system. They submit their requests and share their needs. It is something we will continue to do.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Fine.
The Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada tabled a report in Parliament concerning the simultaneous release of French and English versions of family court decisions.
I have practised law. Jurisprudence is the engine that powers the evolution of our legal system; it moulds our laws and the evolution of our society. We need jurisprudence; it is the motor and the essence of our laws. However, there always seems to be a problem getting jurisprudence in both official languages. That is particularly true in Quebec, but it also happens in other provinces.
Since the publication of the report the Commissioner submitted to Parliament, has the Department of Justice made any decisions on this matter?
Liberal
Marco Mendicino Liberal Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
Our partners from various types of law practice, including family law, submit requests to us.
At the same time, many individuals have come forward and have advocated for a unified family court, so there have been discussions around that topic as well. I would simply say that we're mindful that most of the resources have gone into providing official languages capacity in our criminal courts, and that there needs to be an additional focus placed on our family courts.
The last thing I will add is that my father practises family law, so I hear quite a lot about this at home as well.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Yes.
Jurisprudence is the motor of any legislative evolution in societies. We need to read the past decisions to make sure that we can foresee how we're going to, as we say in French,
evolve as a society.
What I really want to know is whether there was any direct response to that.
Witnesses came and described situations I found really sad. An anglophone lawyer in Quebec, for instance, was unable to obtain a decision in the language in which he had pleaded. Elsewhere, the opposite situation also occurs. It is difficult to obtain a decision in French in Manitoba, for instance. We were told that lawyers who pleaded in English in Quebec did not receive the decisions in English. In fact, they will never have access to the jurisprudence in that language. Consequently, in English Canada, outside of Quebec, it is impossible to follow the evolution of law and the interpretation of the law there in the language of Shakespeare.
And that was the gist of my question.
Liberal
Marco Mendicino Liberal Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
That is a legitimate concern.
I think that an amount of $2 million is invested on a yearly basis in the administration of the courts. I know that more resources have been requested for the translation of these decisions. That is an aspect we are working on.
Liberal
Liberal
Paul Lefebvre Liberal Sudbury, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I thank the witnesses for being here today.
I am going to follow up on what my colleague, Mr. Arseneault, was saying regarding training and information.
Often, when we talk about a bilingual court or bilingual judges, people think that that means having a judge who can hear a case in both official languages. However, it goes further than that. If the stenographer or members of the court administration team are not bilingual, it will be very difficult for the litigants to be heard in their language. Often, even if the judge is bilingual, if the team is not, this causes long delays.
All of this comes back to the issue of training and the part of the five-year, $40-million amount that will be allocated to it. What is the specific plan with regard to allocating those funds?
I know Mr. Arseneault spoke about it, but I'd like to get back to it anyway because I think that training is crucial. There are colleges that offer legal training in French. In my province, in Ontario, there is the Collège Boréal, among others. That training is also offered in New Brunswick and in other colleges elsewhere in Canada. And so we have the necessary resources.
How do you plan to execute the action plan by supporting the training of those who want to join the judiciary?
Liberal
Marco Mendicino Liberal Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
You are right. It isn't just about more training for judges and lawyers. The justice system is supported by many other stakeholders, such as university law faculties and even high schools. That is precisely where it starts. Last week, I was in Forest Hill, in my riding, and we have students there who want to study law. That's where it starts.
You asked about the action plan.
It will touch on all of these aspects. It will include supporting initiatives and collaboration with the University of Ottawa; I know there is a project there. It also includes ensuring that court support staff have the ability to operate in both official languages. It's multi-faceted.
Liberal
Paul Lefebvre Liberal Sudbury, ON
That's important.
Once the plan is formalized and you know what the resource support will look like, could you send that information to the committee?
Liberal
