Posted at 5:00 a.m.
The Legault government’s Bill 101 update will face a first test in court in a month. A group of jurists wishes to have two of its articles suspended as a matter of urgency, which will soon require any proceedings filed in court in English in Quebec to be accompanied by a French translation.
On June 21, these lawyers filed a request for a stay in order to temporarily suspend two articles of Law 96 that they consider problematic until the court rules on their constitutionality.
Acting independently, they are “mindful of the rights of their clients [et] of the principle of access to justice which is jeopardized”, according to their lawyer, Me Felix-Antoine Doyon.
According to them, “although there is no doubt that the protection of French is crucial”, articles 9 and 208.6 of law 96 adopted by the Legault government “are problematic on the constitutional level”, can we read in a Proceedings filed in Superior Court on June 21.
The translations in question
Although this is the second official challenge filed in court, after that of the English-Montreal School Board (EMSB), on 1er last June, that of the group of lawyers will be heard earlier, on August 5, since it requests the emergency suspension of these two articles deemed problematic.
Because as of next September, they will oblige any legal person, ie individuals, but also companies and non-profit organizations, to accompany a procedure filed before the court in English with a French translation certified by a certified translator.
Moreover, the cost of this translation must be borne by the person initiating the procedure.
If there weren’t that condition in the law, if it was the state that agreed to pay for the translations, we might not be here today.
Me Felix-Antoine Doyon
Forced to use French
According to him, the prohibitive costs associated with this condition will force many SMEs or other organizations with little money to turn to French to file certain procedures since they will not be able to afford the services of certified translators.
They could also be forced to turn to French in the face of certain sometimes very tight deadlines granted by the legal system to provide translations.
[Plusieurs PME ou d’autres organismes peu argentés] will be compelled to submit to the law [96] and therefore to address de facto the courts in French when, however, the constitutional law protects them.
Me Felix-Antoine Doyon
Indeed, according to M.e Félix-Antoine Doyon, article 133 of the Constitution Act of 1867 “enshrines the guarantee that any person may use French or English in any pleading or procedural document before all the courts of Quebec”.
“In practice, this has resulted in a justice system that operates largely in the language of the majority, while ensuring Quebec’s linguistic minority the right to participate fully in the official language of their choice. From a linguistic point of view, this system has worked well since Confederation, ”he recalls in the procedure introduced on June 21.
Debate on the merits
If the hearing on August 5 was to focus on the urgency of suspending the two articles deemed problematic until the court definitively decides on their constitutionality, this last subject could indeed be addressed there, according to Mr.e Doyon.
Contacted Monday evening, the office of the Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, indicated that he would not make any comment “given the legal process in progress”.
The English-Montreal School Board was the first organization to announce and formalize the filing of a challenge to Bill 96 before the courts. She relies primarily on section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, section 133 of the Constitution Act of 1867 and part V of the Constitution Act 1982.
Adopted by the National Assembly on May 24, Bill 96, which updates the Charter of the French language — commonly known as Bill 101 — contains more than 200 articles and modifies some twenty existing laws.