LANG Committee Report

K. Justice

1. 2008-2013 Roadmap Investments: Initiatives and Achievements

In their appearance before the Committee, Justice Canada officials described how the justice sector has evolved in recent years:

The justice sector, traditionally considered to be concerned mainly with judges, lawyers, and the court system, is in fact much broader in scope. It is first and foremost a sector that provides services to the population, which involves many levels of interaction. Think only of social workers, police officers, probation officers, mediators, or community organizations that provide education and guidance to seniors, new immigrants, at-risk youth, and other groups. More and more Canadians faced with a legal problem choose to defend their own rights and interests, putting additional pressure on the system for easy-to-understand and accessible legal information services in both official languages.[277]

In response to those changes and to facilitate access to justice in both official languages, the government allocated $93 million under the Roadmap to the following Justice Canada initiatives: $49.5 million for the Contraventions Act Fund, $41 million for the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Initiative, and $2.5 million for the Accountability and Coordination Framework.[278]

1.1 Contraventions Act Fund

The Contraventions Act Fund provides financial assistance to the provinces and territories to increase their capacity to provide minority language services in relation to the implementation of the Contraventions Act:

The Contraventions Act Fund was established to support the implementation of the Contraventions Act in a manner consistent with all applicable constitutional and legislative language rights. The fund provides financial assistance to the provinces and territories that have implemented the Contraventions Act in order to increase their capacity to offer justice services. To date, five provinces have signed contribution agreements to this effect, that is British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. These provinces, in addition to New Brunswick and Quebec, are able to provide services in both official languages for proceedings brought under the Contraventions Act. Discussions with the other jurisdictions are ongoing.[279]

According to the Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique (FFCB), the Contraventions Act Fund has been a success in British Columbia:

…thanks to the Access to Justice Support Fund, the Association des juristes d’expression française de la Colombie-Britannique is continuing its work with the provincial government to provide Francophones with better access to justice services in their language. This work is also part of the community’s GDP [Global Development Plan]. As a result, our grade 11 and 12 students were able to receive law workshops on topics of concern to them, human rights, consumer issues and the environment. We are working with the Association des juristes and the provincial department to ensure that Francophone juries are impaneled when trials are held in French.[280]

However, the Contraventions Act Fund does not provide support for English-language services in Quebec:

In Quebec …the justice system is very bilingual. I told you a little earlier about the Contraventions Act. Our agreement with Quebec does not include a contribution agreement for English-language services in view of the fact that all those services are already offered there, both in French and in English. The needs of the Anglophone population in Quebec are different.[281]

1.2 Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund

According to the Department of Justice officials:

The principles that led to the creation of the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund were improving access to justice services and knowledge and understanding of language rights by Canadian citizens and the legal community, and developing a training initiative to help justice system stakeholders provide services to Canadians in the official language of their choice, especially in the area of criminal matters. Since its creation the support fund has helped make the justice system more accessible, more relevant, and better able to meet the needs of Canadians.[282]

The establishment of the Centre canadien de français juridique is one success story that has resulted from the Access to Justice Support Fund:

The Centre canadien de français juridique offers legal training to justice system stakeholders, including crown prosecutors, probation officers and court clerks. The centre is currently helping develop and design a specialized training program adapted to the needs and realities of criminal court judges. It is also developing electronic tools and resources for continuing education and skills maintenance. The centre makes a positive and concrete contribution to the number of justice stakeholders who are able to provide services in both official languages, which corresponds exactly to the areas for government action identified in the Roadmap.[283]

The Roadmap has also made it possible to create the “CliquezJustice.ca” portal of the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario, a portal for French-language legal information intended for students and the general public:

[This site] constitutes a portal for French legal information for the general public. It targets the needs not only of Ontario’s French-speaking population but also of Francophones in all the other provinces as well. The component related to other provinces will be operational later this year, as the process is currently being validated with provincial partners. What is different about this portal and the information it contains is its target clientele. It’s specifically aimed at elementary and high school students and their teachers and counsellors. It offers games and learning resources for students and tools specifically designed for teachers.

The general public will also have access to legal informational matters of law in clear and simplified language. Once the information from the other provinces is validated, the French-speaking population in these provinces will also have access to the same information the Franco-Ontarian population has. This step is expected to be completed in the coming months.[284]

The Fédération des associations des juristes d’expression française de common law noted the work that has been done to provide French-language training for justice professionals and stakeholders as a result of the Fund:

With regard to training for provincial and territorial stakeholders, a lot of initiatives have been carried out in recent years. Now there are new training programs and programs that are much more developed. We’ve talked about distance training. We see that universities and colleges are increasingly open not only to training for stakeholders once they are in the system, but also for people who are in the system and who are studying to become part of the system, immersion students, for example. There are a lot of training possibilities. We’ve made a lot of progress in a few years.[285]

2. Evidence and recommendations

The efforts made to raise awareness among OLMC members to encourage them to insist on receiving services in the language of their choice and build the capacity of OLMC organizations and institutions to offer high-quality legal services are creating significant demand. However, as the Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise emphasized, needs are diversified. Consequently, there is a need to expand the range of legal services provided to the OLMC:

In justice, we must continue to increase the number and variety of legal services. Not only is the Fransaskois population getting used to justice in French, but the number of people employed in this sector in Saskatchewan has increased by nearly 40% since 2008.[286]

In the Francophone community, stakeholders would like to build their capacities based on two target groups. The first group is made up of Francophone newcomers settling in minority communities. The representatives of the Fédération des associations de juristes d’expression française de common law told the Committee that this target group is one of the emerging clienteles because immigration in the Francophone minority communities is on the increase.

Learning about the Canadian legal system is part of the socialization process. It is also an essential condition for the full integration of immigrants into Canadian society. It is therefore necessary for OLMC immigration networks to develop skills enabling them to include legal services in current settlement services. Labour law, spousal and family violence, relations with police, credit card use, residential leases and the drafting of documents such as wills are some of the areas of legal intervention where services are most requested. On one side, professional networks such as French-language lawyer associations have the necessary expertise to establish programs. On the other, OLMC organizations and institutions working in the field are in a better position to provide these services. This partnership requires the support of both levels of government to provide funding, coordination and intergovernmental cooperation.

Women victims of violence are the second target group. Research shows that “every six days in 2009, a woman was murdered by her current or former male spouse or boyfriend. In the same year, over 17,000 women reported to police that they had been sexually assaulted. In 2010, around 3,000 women stayed in shelters each day to escape domestic violence.”[287] According to the Alliance des femmes de la Francophonie canadienne, few services are currently available to Francophone minority women:

But it is important to point out that French-language services for victims in minority communities are practically non-existent. Only three provinces have a Francophone reception centre for women who are victims of violence. Our members have to take the initiative to contact Anglophone centres in order to find employees who speak French and who can help the victims.[288]

The Committee acknowledges the significant awareness and training work done by Justice Canada. In its view, the Department must continue that effort to maintain gains and build OLMC capacity to provide legal services in the minority language. Other priorities have now been added to the list of OLMC justice needs, including services to immigrants and women victims of violence. Accordingly, the Committee recommends:

Recommendation 28

That Justice Canada, in the Government of Canada’s future horizontal initiative for official languages, assist immigrants living in official language minority communities and the community organizations and institutions that provide them with services in order to improve their understanding of the Canadian legal system, to facilitate access to legal services in the official language of their choice and to promote careers in justice for the immigrant population.

Recommendation 29

That Justice Canada, in the Government of Canada’s future horizontal initiative for official languages, assist victims of violence in order to provide them with resources in the official language of their choice.

The support provided to Quebec’s Anglophone communities for justice differs from the programs in place for Francophone communities:

The needs of the Anglophone population in Quebec are different; although they are similar to those of the Francophone population outside Quebec in terms of the importance of having access to simplified legal information in an easy-to-understand language. The problem is the same as for all people living in French outside Quebec. Their needs are currently very much in that area.

Together with the people from Quebec, we examined the province’s main legal tools, particularly for the purpose of making the Civil Code of Quebec accessible in an English form that is legally consistent and acceptable. The fact remains that Quebec Anglophones have different needs when it comes to access to justice. [289]

To support Quebec’s Anglophone communities, Justice Canada has done extensive work in partnership with Éducaloi “to provide the English community of Quebec with legal information that is written in an English language that they fully understand, that is written in clear language.”[290] Justice Canada noted on that point that “Éducaloi’s work is based on an approach that is adapted to the needs of this clientele rather than one based on translation. This enables Éducaloi to reach Quebec’s Anglophone and Allophone communities whose first official language spoken is English.”[291] The Department has also provided funding to McGill University’s Paul-André Crépeau Centre for Private and Comparative Law.

Justice Canada has also cooperated with the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN), the joint committee of the Barreau du Québec and the Chambre des notaires to update “the English version of the Civil Code of Québec, because according to the English legal community, the English version of the Civil Code of Québec was not written in an acceptable manner for English-speaking lawyers and the English-speaking community. So we’ve helped a lot with that particular project.”[292]

The QCGN reacted to explanations of the purpose of that project provided by Justice Canada. The QCGN noted that English-speaking lawyers and citizens were not the only people who had to deal with the poor quality of the English translation of the Civil Code (1994):

The French and English versions of the Civil Code are equally valid and may be used by litigants regardless of linguistic profile. The errors made in the translation of the Code were significant (more than 5,000), and that has enabled lawyers to “shop around” between the English and French versions. The incompatibility of the two versions of the Act has affected all Quebeckers.[293]

In other words, the project has benefited Quebec society as a whole. Other stakeholders noted that the concordance work done guarantees a better sharing of ideas with international legal experts who, in many cases, work with the English version of the Civil Code. A similar project to improve the quality of the English translation of the Code de procédure civile du Québec could be carried out. It remains to be seen whether Justice Canada will contribute to that initiative.

Like the Francophone communities, Quebec’s Anglophone communities have expressed a need for legal programs targeting immigrants whose first official language spoken is English. The Black Community Resource Centre (BCRC) told the Committee that it is important for the Government of Canada to recognize the multicultural nature of Quebec’s Anglophone communities in designing its programs:

…the Roadmap in Quebec needs to be far more sensitive to the reality of multi-ethnic, multi-racial Anglophones in Quebec. In Montréal, in particular, concerted inroads are needed into communities that speak English but are not of anglo British origin.[294]

Having regard to the above, the Committee believes that Justice Canada would do well to strengthen its ties with Quebec’s Anglophone communities to enhance its understanding of their justice needs. Accordingly, the Committee recommends:

Recommendation 30

That Justice Canada, in partnership with Quebec’s Department of Justice and the principal parties involved, consult Quebec’s Anglophone communities to determine their needs in the area of access to justice in English in Quebec and identify possible federal initiatives that would not conflict with provincial jurisdiction.