The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Alberta is not constitutionally obligated to enact and publish its laws in both French and English.
In a split 6-3 decision, the majority of the court said that a province has the authority to decide which language or languages it uses in its own legislative processes.
The case began almost a decade ago and involved two francophone men in Alberta who had been charged with offences under the province's Traffic Safety Act -- a document that had been passed only in English.
The men argued that they had a constitutional right to legislative bilingualism, meaning the right to laws written in both languages.
The provincial court judge agreed with their argument at trial, saying that the Royal Proclamation of 1869 and an 1870 order which made much of the Prairies part of Canada, obligated the Alberta legislature to enact legislation in English and in French.
But in 2009, the Alberta government won on appeal. The judge in that trial ruled that the historical documents did not enshrine language rights in Alberta and that the province was not required to have bilingual laws.
The Supreme Court agreed, saying their argument is inconsistent with the context and purpose of the documents the men refer to, and that provinces have the right to choose which language or languages are to be used in their legislative processes.
“Clearly, a province may choose to enact its laws and regulations in both French and English,” wrote Justices Thomas Cromwell andAndromache Karakatsanis, for the majority.
“But one cannot simply infer a guarantee of legislative bilingualism that would override this exclusive provincial jurisdiction absent clear textual and contextual evidence to support an entrenched right.”
Three of the court’s justices dissented, saying Alberta is required to enact and publish its laws in French and English because the documents of 1869 and 1870 “contained a promise to protect legislative bilingualism.”
The case could have implications for people in Saskatchewan, where language laws are similar to Alberta.
With files from The Canadian Press
