Language regimes in the provinces and territories : Régimes linguistiques dans les provinces et les territoires

Canada's Constitution contains no provision relating to jurisdiction over language. In a 1988 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed that "language is not an independent matter of legislation but is rather 'ancillary' to the exercise of jurisdiction with respect to some class of subject matter assigned to Parliament or the provincial legislatures by the Constitution Act, 1867." The power to legislate with regard to language therefore belongs to both the federal and provincial levels of government, under their respective legislative authority. The provinces and territories play an important role in the protection of linguistic minorities in sectors falling under their exclusive or shared jurisdiction. Although until recently researchers have most often referred to the lack of respect by provincial and territorial governments for the rights of linguistic minorities, it appears that official language initiatives by those levels of government are now better known than in the past.