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.
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Year: 2009
Province or Territory: Quebec
Court: Supreme Court of Canada
Citation: 2009 SCC 47
Category: Minority-language education rights
In this judgment, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on the constitutionality of the limits imposed by section 73 of the Charter of the French Language (CFL) regarding eligibility for education in the minority language in Quebec. Under ...Year: 2008
Province or Territory: New Brunswick
Court: Supreme Court of Canada
Citation: 2008 SCC 15
Category: Language rights and services to the public
In this case, the Supreme Court of Canada formulated the following constitutional question: Does section 20(2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (The Charter) require the Royal Canadian Mountain Police (RCMP) to provide services in both...Year: 2005
Province or Territory: Quebec
Court: Supreme Court of Canada
Citation: 2005 SCC 15
Category: Minority-language education rights
In this case,Footnote 1 heard with SolskiFootnote 2, the Supreme Court had to assess the constitutional right to minority language instruction in light of the right to equality. Most...Year: 2005
Province or Territory: New Brunswick
Court: Supreme Court of Canada
Citation: 2005 SCC 74
Category: Legislative and judicial bilingualism
In this caseFootnote 1, the Supreme Court of Canada considered the question of the interpretation to be given to the word “institution” in the New Brunswick Official Languages Act (NBOLA)...Year: 2005
Province or Territory: New Brunswick
Court: Supreme Court of Canada
Citation: 2005 SCC 85
Category: Vitality and development of official language minority communities
The legislative amendments to Part VII of the Official Languages Act (OLA) led the Supreme Court of Canada to withdraw leave to appeal in Forum des mairesFootnote 1. In that...Year: 2003
Province or Territory: Nova Scotia
Court: Supreme Court of Canada
Citation: (2003)3 S.C.R. 3
Category: Minority-language education rights
In the case of Doucet-BoudreauFootnote 1, the Supreme Court of Canada considered the question of the nature of the remedy that can be awarded under section 24 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (The Charter)...Year: 2014
Province or Territory: Ontario
Court: Supreme Court of Canada
Citation: 2014 SCC 67, [2014] 3 S.C.R. 340
Category: Language rights and services to the public
In Thibodeau v Air Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada held that the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (the Montreal Convention) precludes awarding damages under section 77...Year: 2011
Province or Territory: Alberta
Court: Supreme Court of Canada
Citation: 2011 SCC 5
Category: Legislative and judicial bilingualism
In this caseFootnote 1, the Supreme Court of Canada had to determine whether and to what extent the courts could order the Crown to fund “public interest” litigation, particularly in the area of language rights. In the more specific context of...Year: 2015
Province or Territory: British Columbia
Court: Supreme Court of Canada
Citation: 2015 SCC 21
Category: Minority-language education rights
The Supreme Court of Canada established the manner in which a court should assess whether the educational experience of children who attend minority language schools is equivalent to that provided in majority language schools, in accordance with section 23 of the ...Year: 2015
Province or Territory: Yukon
Court: Supreme Court of Canada
Citation: 2015 SCC 25
Category: Minority-language education rights
The Supreme Court of Canada examined three issues in this appeal. The central issue was the Court of Appeal of Yukon’s finding that the trial judge’s conduct gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias. The Supreme Court of Canada also reviewed two legal issues that the Court of Appeal did...Filter by year
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