R. V. Beaulac
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''R v Beaulac''
999 999 or triple nine most often refers to: * 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries * 999 (number), an integer * AD 999, a year * 999 BC, a year Media Books * 999 (anthology), ''99 ...
1 S.C.R. 768 is a decision by the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...
on language rights. Notably, the majority adopted a liberal and
purposive interpretation The purposive approach (sometimes referred to as purposivism, purposive construction, purposive interpretation, or the modern principle in construction) is an approach to statutory and constitutional interpretation under which common law courts ...
of language rights in the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part of the '' Constitution Act, 1982''. The ''Char ...
, overturning conservative case law such as '' Société des Acadiens v. Association of Parents'' (1986). As the majority wrote, "To the extent that ''Société des Acadiens du Nouveau-Brunswick''... stands for a restrictive interpretation of language rights, it is to be rejected."


Background

Jean Victor Beaulac was accused of murder and was brought before the British Columbia Supreme Court and convicted. Beaulac claimed rights under section 530 of the
Criminal Code A criminal code or penal code is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...
, which allows for the accused to be heard in court in his or her language, if it is one of the official languages of Canada, English or French. The Supreme Court noted in its 1999 decision that this was the first time it had ever considered this Criminal Code right. At a lower level, Beaulac had been denied this right to be heard in French, since one judge found Beaulac's skills in English were adequate though not perfect.


Decision

The majority of the Court first considered the
Constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada () is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents are an amalgamation of various ...
, noting that the
Constitution Act, 1867 The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. 3) (),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 1867'' (BNA Act), ...
, which set out the rules for
Canadian federalism Canadian federalism () involves the current nature and historical development of the federal system in Canada. Canada is a federation with eleven components: the national Government of Canada and ten Provinces and territories of Canada, p ...
, did not give any level of government exclusive jurisdiction to create language rights, and both levels probably could. There were language rights in the Constitution as well, and these could provide context for language rights cases. These include section 133 of the Constitution Act, 1867, and it was noted that in '' Jones v. Attorney General of New Brunswick'' (1975) the Supreme Court found that these can be expanded upon. The majority noted that in 1986 the Supreme Court found that language rights should be handled conservatively, in '' MacDonald v. City of Montreal'', ''Société des Acadiens'' and '' Bilodeau v. Attorney General of Manitoba''. However, the majority claimed conservative interpretation of language rights has since given way to a more liberal approach, in '' Ford v. Quebec (Attorney General)'' (1988), which concerned language and
freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...
under section 2 of the Canadian Charter. The Court took this as important, since this "re-affirm the importance of language rights as supporting official language communities and their culture." Other noted victories for language rights included '' Mahe v. Alberta'' (1990) on
minority language A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities. With a total number of 196 sovereign states recognized internationally (as of 2019) and ...
education rights in section 23 of the Canadian Charter and '' Reference re Manitoba Language Rights'' (1992) on the
Manitoba Act The ''Manitoba Act, 1870'' ()Originally entitled (until renamed in 1982) ''An Act to amend and continue the Act 32 and 33 Victoria, chapter 3; and to establish and provide for the Government of the Province of Manitoba.'' is an act of the Parli ...
. While in ''Société des Acadiens'' the Court had played down language rights because they were deemed to be the result of political deals, in this case the Court decided that it does not follow that that means the courts cannot interpret the rights in the same way it interprets other rights. Hence, the Court saw language rights as
individual rights Individual rights, also known as natural rights, are rights held by individuals by virtue of being human. Some theists believe individual rights are bestowed by God. An individual right is a moral claim to freedom of action. Group rights, also k ...
promoting
dignity Dignity is a human's contentment attained by satisfying physiological needs and a need in development. The content of contemporary dignity is derived in the new natural law theory as a distinct human good. As an extension of the Enlightenment- ...
, and the Criminal Code right represented a growth in language rights encouraged by section 16 of the Canadian Charter. Turning to section 530 of the Criminal Code, the Court called it an "absolute right." Since past interpretation indicated such rights are not just
due process Due process of law is application by the state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to a case so all legal rights that are owed to a person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual p ...
, it should be respected beyond what the letter of the law actually demands. The Court also found that the accused's language was a personal matter and related to one's identity, and therefore courts should respect the accused's "subjective" feelings towards a language. In this case, the Court ordered a new trial.


Concurrence

Chief Justice
Antonio Lamer Joseph Antonio Charles Lamer (July 8, 1933 – November 24, 2007) was a Canadian lawyer and jurist who served as the 16th Chief Justice of Canada from 1990 to 2000. Career Lamer practised in partnership at the firm of Cutler, Lamer, Bellemare ...
and Ian Binnie wrote a brief concurrence on section 530 of the Criminal Code. However, they protested the reconsideration of ''Société des Acadiens'' and section 16 of the Charter since the ''Beaulac'' case did not involve constitutional law. "It is a well-established rule of prudence that courts ought not to pronounce on constitutional issues unless they are squarely raised for decision," they wrote.Para. 1.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaulac Bilingualism in Canada Supreme Court of Canada cases 1999 in Canadian case law Language case law