Court decisions
This database presents summaries of key court decisions in Canada related to official languages and of events relating to language rights since 2003. These summaries have been prepared by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada.
This database is not exhaustive. It was designed to be used as a reference tool for people directly or indirectly interested in language rights. The database is updated on an ongoing basis.
Applied Filter(s)
Year: 2005
Province or Territory: Manitoba
Court: Federal Court of Appeal
Citation: 2005 FCA 205
Category: Language rights in the federal public service
This decisionFootnote 1 considered the actions available under the OLA when the case involves language issues in the context of labour relations subject to a collective agreement. The appellants were...Year: 2009
Province or Territory: Manitoba
Court: Federal Court
Citation: 2009 FC 704
Category: Language rights in the federal public service
This caseFootnote 1 arose from complaints filed by a group of 39 VIA Rail employees concerning the impact of their employer’s language policy on their opportunities for advancement. The policy in question addressed,...Year: 2005
Province or Territory: New Brunswick
Court: Federal Court
Citation: 2005 FC 1172
Category: Language rights in the federal public service
In Société des Acadiens et AcadiennesFootnote 1, the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal ruled on the constitutional language obligations of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) when providing...Year: 2004
Province or Territory: Manitoba
Court: Federal Court
Citation: 2004 FC 406
Category: Language rights in the federal public service
In this caseFootnote 1, the Federal Court had to rule first on the scope of the recommendations made by the Commissioner of Official Languages in her investigation reports, and second on remedies available in linguistic matters where the issue is...Year: 2003
Province or Territory: Nova Scotia
Court: Federal Court of Appeal
Citation: 2003 FCA 149
Category: Language rights in the federal public service
The judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal in AyangmaFootnote 1 raises the question of the language obligations applicable to a staffing process following a competition. In particular, it raises the question of the applicability of Part...Year: 2003
Province or Territory: Saskatchewan
Court: Federal Court of Appeal
Citation: 2003 FCA 436
Category: Language rights in the federal public service
In MarchessaultFootnote 1, the Federal Court of Appeal had to rule on the validity of criteria used to identify a position’s language requirement according to the needs of service to the public. To do this, it had to consider the basis...Year: 2015
Province or Territory: Ontario
Court: Federal Court
Citation: 2015 FC 862
Category: Language rights in the federal public service
This case was about a complainant’s right to apply to the Federal Court for a remedy under section 77 of the Official Languages Act (the Act) after the Commissioner has reported that he was satisfied with the measures taken by a federal institution in response...Year: 2017
Province or Territory: Ontario
Court: Federal Court of Appeal
Citation: 2017 FCA 250
Category: Language rights in the federal public service
Background This appeal was brought by the Attorney General and sought to overturn the Federal Court’s judicial review of a decision of the Public Service Commission (PSC). PSC conducted an audit of the Office of the Commissioner for Federal...Year: 2019
Province or Territory: Ontario
Court: Federal Court
Citation: 2019 FC 1474
Category: Language rights and services to the public, Language rights in the federal public service
Background After having filed a complaint that was investigated by the Commissioner of Official Languages (the Commissioner), Mr. Thibodeau, the applicant, filed a claim for remedy against the Senate before the Federal Court under section 77 of the Official Languages Act,...10. Canada (Commissioner of Official Languages) v Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions
Year: 2021
Province or Territory: Quebec
Court: Federal Court of Appeal
Citation: 2021 FCA 159
Category: Language rights in the federal public service
In this case, the Federal Court of Appeal was asked to rule, for the first time, on the interpretation of subsections 36(1)(a) and 36(2) of the Official Languages Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 31 (4th...