Court Challenges Program – Questions and answers

Questions and answers

What is the objective of the Court Challenges Program?

Re-established in 2017, the modernized Court Challenges Program (CCP)’s objective is to provide individuals and groups in Canada with financial support to bring cases of national significance related to certain constitutional and quasi-constitutional official language rights and human rights before the courts. Funding decisions are made by two independent expert panels, one for human rights and the other for official language rights. The program has an ongoing annual budget of $5 million.

Why are you planning to include the Court Challenges Program in Bill C-13?

Since its initial creation in 1978, the Court Challenges Program has been cancelled and reinstated multiple times. Bill C-13 proposes to offer legislative protections to both program components. The Official Language Rights component would be inserted in the Official Languages Act, while the Human Rights component would be included in the Department of Canadian Heritage Act. The Bill plans to modify article 43(1)c of the Official Languages Act and article 7 of the Department of Canadian Heritage Act. These legislative changes aim to perpetuate the program’s existence while creating an obligation for the Government to justify the program’s partial or complete elimination, as well as an obligation to consider measures to mitigate the potential negative effects of any elimination. Hence, the ability of official language minority communities to defend their rights will be improved.

What has the Court Challenges Program accomplished since its reinstatement in 2017?

Since its reinstatement in 2017 the Court Challenges Program has funded some 200 test cases, including 74 on constitutional or quasi-constitutional rights related to official languages. These cases have touched on a variety of rights including education rights, equality and linguistic advancement, and the right to services and communication among many others.

Can the Program be used to challenge provincial and territorial laws or policies?

The program is often used to fund test cases related to federal activity in human rights or official language rights. The CCP cannot fund complaints, prosecutions or challenges presented solely in terms of provincial or territorial laws relating to the protection of official language rights or against provincial or territorial laws, policies, or practices other than ones covered by the CCP. Hence, some test cases related to official languages may be funded within a framework that clearly includes the rights covered by the program.

The CCP may not fund complaints, prosecutions or challenges presented solely in terms of provincial or territorial human rights laws or against provincial or territorial laws, policies, or practices in the area of human rights.

What official language rights are covered by the Court Challenges Program?

The Court Challenges Program supports official language rights derived from the following:

Official language rights protected by:

• sections 93 and 133 of the Constitution Act, 1867;
• section 23 of the Manitoba Act, 1870;
• sections 16 to 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“the Charter”);
• any parallel constitutional provisions; and
• the linguistic aspect of freedom of expression in section 2 of the Charter when invoked in an official language minority case.

Justiciable parts of the Official Languages Act, which include:

• certain sections of Part I (Proceedings of Parliament);
• certain sections of Part II (Legislative and Other Instruments);
• Part IV (Communications with and Services to the Public);
• Part V (Language of Work);
• Part VII (Advancement of English and French); and
• section 91 (Staffing).

What human rights are covered by the Court Challenges Program?

The Court Challenges Program supports human rights derived from the following:

Human rights protected by the Charter under:

• section 2 (fundamental freedoms, including freedom of religion, expression, assembly and association);
• section 3 (democratic rights);
• section 7 (life, liberty and the security of the person);
• section 15 (equality rights);
• section 27 (multiculturalism) – when raised in support of arguments based on equality rights; and
• section 28 (gender equality).