2.2 Creation of the French Language Services Bench and Bar Advisory Committee
French Language Services Bench and Bar Advisory Committee
| Year | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Issue | Lack of access to justice in French |
| Impact following FLSC’s intervention | Establishment of the French Language Services Bench and Bar Advisory Committee |
| Current status | Follow-up on the implementation of the Committee’s 17 recommendations |
Access to justice in French has been an ongoing issue since the Commissioner’s Office was established 10 years ago.
The challenges for access to justice in French are significant and progress is slow. The Commissioner recommended in 2009 that an advisory committee composed of members of the judiciary and the bar be formed to actively look for ways of improving access to justice in French.
Effectiveness of the intervention
In 2010, the Attorney General created the French Language Services Bench and Bar Advisory Committee. The Committee, co-chaired by the Honourable Justice Paul Rouleau of the Ontario Court of Appeal, and Paul LeVay, then president of the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario (AJEFO), was to study such issues as judges’ knowledge of language rights and the shortage of bilingual judges in Ontario.
Two years later, the Committee published its report,19 in which it confirmed that the status quo on access to justice in French was unacceptable. In a nutshell, it found that access to justice in French often costs more and takes longer. The report contained 17 recommendations that had the potential to produce significant advances for Francophones in such areas as active offer, access to French-language services at every point of contact with the justice system, and language skills and training of judges and court staff. Welcomed by the Commissioner, these recommendations had the advantage of being accompanied by accountability and evaluation measures to ensure genuine access to justice in French in Ontario.
The Commissioner said he was satisfied with the Committee’s work and recommendations, as long as they were implemented in an efficient, coordinated manner. This led to the establishment of a response steering committee to act on the Advisory Committee’s recommendations.
19. For more details, see https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/about/pubs/bench_bar_advisory_committee/ (page consulted in March 2017).