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

The role of the courts in Canada has changed a great deal over the years. From Confederation to the 1960s, the courts played a minor role in the protection of individual rights. Their primary interest in those years was the constitutional separation of powers; in the name of parliamentary supremacy, they left it to the legislators to protect and ensure respect for civil freedoms. After the Canadian Human Rights Bill was adopted in 1960, the government assigned to the courts responsibility for guaranteeing a number of individual rights in areas of federal jurisdiction.