| Section Sixteen Of The Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms |
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Information AboutSection Sixteen Of The Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SECTION SIXTEEN OF THE CANADIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS | |
| canadian charter of rights and freedoms | |
| section 16 | |
| bilingualism in canada | |
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Section Sixteen of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' is the first of several sections of the '' Charter '' dealing with Canada 's two Official Language s, English and French . It reads: 16. (1) English and French are the official languages of Canada and have the equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and government of Canada. This section sets out general principles that are expanded in sections '' had provided for this at the federal level since 1969 , and New Brunswick had similar legislation. Those laws, however, were merely Statute s, and section 16 thus made some of their key aspects into constitutional principles. JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION Subsections 16(1) and 16(2) It is important to note that many ''Charter'' cases regarding the use of the English and French languages have not been fought on the grounds of section 16.Dyck, Rand. ''Canadian Politics: Critical Approaches''. Third ed. Scarborough, Ontario: Nelson Thomson Learning, 2000. Section 16 applies to the operation of governmental institutions, so more personal Individual Right s regarding language must be found elsewhere. The rights as they apply to government institutions, as noted in the case '' Ford V. Quebec (A.G.) '', have "special historical, political and constitutional basis." http://canlii.ca/ca/com/chart/s-16.html For example, Quebec's Bill 101 , which limited the use of English, was considered by some to be invalid in certain respects not because it conflicted with section 16, but because it infringed Freedom Of Expression , which is guaranteed by Section 2 of the ''Charter''.Dyck. Likewise, section 16 does not really apply to Provinces besides New Brunswick; as the only province that currently considers itself to be officially bilingual, New Brunswick is the only province to have its bilingualism guaranteed by section 16. When Manitoba 's laws declaring English to be the only official language of the province were found to be invalid in '' Re Manitoba Language Rights '' ( 1985 ), this was due to its contradictions with the '' Manitoba Act ''.Dyck. It has not been easy to understand how section 16 ''can'' be applied. In '' Société Des Acadiens V. Association Of Parents '' (1986), Chief Justice Brian Dickson made reference to the "academic debate about the precise significance of s. 16," and the question of "Whether s. 16 is visionary, declaratory or substantive in nature." He did, however, decide that "at the very least it provides a strong indicator of the purpose of the language guarantees in the Charter sections 17 to 22 ... the federal government of Canada and the government of New Brunswick have demonstrated their commitment to official bilingualism within their respective jurisdictions." In the same case, Justice Jean Beetz wrote that the political nature of section 16, as opposed to the generous nature of the rights in the rest of the Charter, indicate that courts should be cautious in interpreting section 16 in new ways. Elected governments would play a larger role in determining its scope. Justice Bertha Wilson went on to speculate that section 16 is meant to represent an opportunity for expansion of language rights. Thus, courts must always ask themselves how their rulings fit in with the current state of affairs regarding official languages policy, and how their rulings are consistent with it. While the rights guaranteed under another language provision of the ''Charter'', Section 20 , are limited, this does not mean that section 16 is limited or cannot have an effect on the growth of language rights. As far as New Brunswick is concerned, she added, bilingualism was considered "crucial" to "social and cultural development," and thus there should be "heightened public expectations" that this could be supported by the ''Charter''. http://canlii.ca/ca/com/chart/s-16.html In '' R. V. Beaulac '' (1999), the Supreme Court rejected some of its earlier conservative interpretations. It ruled that a purposive (generous) interpretation would be appropriate for language rights, since this would help Minority Language communities (ie., those who speak English or French in a region where that language is the minority language) achieve equality. Subsection 16(3) Since subsection 16(3) provides that a Parliament or provincial government may strive for progress in official bilingualism (reflecting a 1975 court decision, '' Jones V. Attorney General Of New Brunswick '', in which it was found governments may do this), the Supreme Court, in ''Société des Acadiens'', has argued that it is the elected governments and "political compromise" that will mostly advance language rights. Justice Wilson added that subsection 16(3) demonstrates that while language rights need to be improved, they should not be eroded once they have been established. http://canlii.ca/ca/com/chart/s-16.html#_Toc68429950 SEE ALSO Notes |
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