Official Languages committee  If you want, you might make a special provision for the Supreme Court of Canada or a provision that applies to all federal courts. But that mechanism seems a little more complex to me. What you are suggesting—adding something specific for the Supreme Court in section 16—is still

Official Languages committee  If that is so, it will also be the case with the directives currently being issued by the Prime Minister of Canada. Using non-legislative and non-constitutional means, he is indicating that Supreme Court judges must be appointed if they have a certain level of functional bilingua

Official Languages committee  No, but let me add an important nuance. In the Reference re Supreme Court Act, it says that the composition of the court is part of its essential features, just like the appointment conditions. The court specifies that the appointment conditions are those codified by subsection

Official Languages committee  No. Subsection 4(1) and sections 5 and 6 of the Supreme Court Act do not deal with the bilingualism of judges or other qualification criteria, but rather the composition of the court. They indicate there that it is made up of nine judges and three of them must come from Quebec. T

Official Languages committee  You've got it.

Official Languages committee  Yes, the Supreme Court provides us with a definition.

Official Languages committee  Yes. In it, the court specifies the appointment conditions and the composition of the court, as codified by subsection 4(1) and sections 5 and 6 of the Supreme Court Act.

Official Languages committee  That's right.

Official Languages committee  Yes, it is the easiest way and probably the—

Official Languages committee  The Reference re Supreme Court Act is actually about the Nadon decision. I reiterate that, in that decision, the Supreme Court said that the essential features of the court were subject to a complex constitutional amendment procedure. The issue is figuring out what the essential

Official Languages committee  Thank you. I don't think the appointment of bilingual judges to the Supreme Court of Canada affects one of its essential features. I am actually sure it does not. As long as an essential feature is not affected, Parliament may amend the Supreme Court Act. I repeat: as long as a

Official Languages committee  There you go.

Official Languages committee  There is an injustice to francophones who, in many cases, are exposed to the English language and hear cases in French and English. I am thinking of some bilingual judges who hear cases in both languages. However, the greatest injustice is experienced by the litigants, in my opi

Official Languages committee  If they show a lot of determination, I think they can acquire an adequate knowledge of French and understand cases within a few months.

Official Languages committee  First of all, it is often a question of personal initiative. A person who really wants to access this position will try to learn French. The person may become even more interested in civil law, while they're at it. We talk a lot about bilingualism, but we could also talk about bi