The role of the courts in the recognition of language rights : Rôle des tribunaux dans la reconnaissance des droits linguistiques

A. The Adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Its Judicial Implications The role of the courts in Canada has changed a great deal over the years. [...] For others, the changes have been negative because they have put policy making in the hands of the courts, thereby diminishing the authority of Parliament to the benefit of lobby groups and the judicial system. [...] Section 133 of this Act allowed for the use of English and French in parliamentary debates and court proceedings, and in the printing and publications of laws by the Parliament of Canada and the Legislature of Quebec. [...] The current Act takes into account the new constitutional order imposed by the Charter and adds provisions pertaining to language of work in federal institutions, the vitality and development of the English and French linguistic minority communities, and the advancement of English and French in Canadian society. [...] In the action to preserve the Montfort Hospital (in Ottawa),(9) the Ontario Court of Appeal acknowledged that the hospital is an institution essential to the survival and growth of the Franco-Ontarian community.