Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for your commitment to the advancement of Canada's official languages. Thanks as well for inviting me as part of your evaluation of measures that could be taken to promote French.
In the few minutes allotted me at the start of this meeting, I would like to discuss two initiatives that are of particular importance for the promotion of access to justice in French, the topic for which you have invited me today.
First of all, I will address the very important reform of the Official Languages Act and the justice aspects it entails.
Then I will briefly discuss how vitally important the Action Plan for Official Languages is for the network of French-language lawyers outside Quebec.
First of all, the reform of the Official Languages Act.
It has been a pleasure to work in the French-speaking regions outside Quebec for more than 30 years, and I have rarely seen a more comprehensive mobilization of the community from sea to sea, and sector to sector, in favour of the Official Languages Act reform bill.
The Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne, the FCFA, generally acts as the representative of the francophone community. You're very familiar with it. Its message will be broadcast many times and in various ways until the reform is adopted, but it's important to note that all francophone activity sectors have set to work and expect great things from the upcoming bill.
The legal community is very pleased with certain protections that were included in the previous bill: the repeal of the Supreme Court exception under section 16 of the Official Languages Act, and thus the right to be heard in French before the Supreme Court, and recognition of the need to protect the court challenges program. However, it lacked certain aspects of the previous bill, three of which I would like to bring to your attention today.
First, there should be a clearer definition of the obligation provided under part VII of the Official Languages Act. Access to justice is a shared federal-provincial jurisdiction. The use of part VII for the advancement of French in access to justice is thus particularly important.
Second, there is the issue of evaluating the language skills of judicial nominees. Many people have heard me sing that refrain, one that is familiar to the Fédération des associations de juristes d'expression française de common law, the FAJEF. The availability of truly bilingual judges is essential to the development of justice in French outside Quebec.
Third, the reform must guarantee access to justice in French in the field of bankruptcy. After the criminal law and family law workshops and recent amendments to the Divorce Act, bankruptcy law and the entire bankruptcy field are the next area where litigants must have access to justice in French across the country.
Now I want to discuss the community support aspect in the Action Plan for Official Languages. We must absolutely ensure that the action plan currently in place is renewed for the period from 2018 to 2023.
Access to justice in French is protected by certain major actions such as the recent reform of the Divorce Act, reform of the Official Languages Act and the appointment of francophone judges to the courts and the Supreme Court. Apart from those major actions, access to justice in French is secured evermore significantly by hundreds, indeed thousands, of minor actions that often go unnoticed but nevertheless change the lives of francophone litigants. My jurist colleagues work in all the communities that are taking those minor actions. I'm talking about the efforts of the provincial bar associations that work with the people in their communities and address very local and specific concerns.