Official Languages committee  Absolutely.

Official Languages committee  I'd like to go back to a point that you raised, that what is important is legal competency. A distinction is made, and I don't think it should be. I think that linguistic ability is an integral part of legal competency. Our acts aren't translated; they're drafted in both languages.

Official Languages committee  As regards the specific area of access to justice, I'm going to ask Ms. Tremblay to answer you.

Official Languages committee  I'm referring to the support fund that Ms. Duchesne mentioned. I'm going to take this opportunity to say that it's very important that the support fund be renewed in the context of the action plan. It was a program of $18.5 million over five years, which is now awaiting the action plan's renewal.

Official Languages committee  It's in the 1988 version of the Official Languages Act, section 16, which reads as follows: 16.(1) Every federal court, other than the Supreme Court of Canada, has the duty to ensure that (a) if English is the language chosen by the parties for proceedings conducted before it in any particular case, every judge or other officer who hears those proceedings is able to understand English without the assistance of an interpreter; (b) if French is the language chosen by the parties for proceedings conducted before it...

Official Languages committee  I've always thought that it was very important to appoint bilingual judges to the Supreme Court. Amending the act is one way of doing it, but there is another, simpler way of proceeding. And that's to ensure that that happens in the appointment process.

Official Languages committee  That's correct.

Official Languages committee  I think that dynamic is inevitable in discussions on a case that has been pleaded partially in French, on a case concerning elements of the Civil Code or on language cases. Either the ninth judge won't be in on the discussions among the bilingual judges, or the francophones judges will conduct the conversation in English.

Official Languages committee  Let's say that—

Official Languages committee  As far as I know, no.

Official Languages committee  Correct me if I'm wrong, but I get the impression that Bill C-13 was developed precisely to make it possible to do what you just mentioned. I've already appeared before the House Justice Committee and that of the Senate to express my support for that bill because it is an attempt to correct the deficiencies you've identified.

Official Languages committee  I would like to add another point to the issue. We live in this bijural system in which the Supreme Court is called upon to make decisions, to decide arguments, some of which are conducted in French. The entire concept is debated in French in a legal system that is not necessarily a common law system, in a country where there has been a language debate for 40 years that has profound legal implications.

Official Languages committee  I think the public service gives you a model for that. It's not a perfect model: improvements can still be made to it. In another connection, I know that specialized French second-language courses are provided for judges or potential judges who have already achieved a certain level of French.

Official Languages committee  First, I'd like to respond to the underlying assumption of your question. I don't think we can talk about cheating. When people say they are bilingual, they do so in good faith, without necessarily understanding that there are levels of linguistic understanding and that they are entirely capable of functioning to a certain degree.

Official Languages committee  I'll answer very briefly, partly because I'm not a lawyer. Like you, I find that very ironic, especially when you consider the other qualifications that are checked. When you apply for a judicial position, you need a set of qualifications, including membership in the bar association, which I assume requires some checking.