Case information

None.

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

Civil evidence Admissibility Exhibits Application for declaration that untranslated exhibits in French language, attached to affidavit, could be considered by court without certified translation dismissed Whether 1731 English statute, which provides that English is language of courts and prohibits admission of exhibits in language other than English without certified translation, is still in force in British Columbia Whether trial judge presiding over civil proceedings has discretion to admit documentary evidence in language other than English without certified translation Proceedings in the Courts of Justice Act, 1731 (U.K.), 4 Geo. II, c. 26.

The applicants brought an action against the Province of British Columbia and the Minister of Education (collectively, the “Province”), alleging violations of the Province’s constitutional obligations under s. 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Province filed an application to remove the applicants Conseil Scolaire and Fédération des Parents as plaintiffs, and to add the Conseil scolaire as a third party. The Province contended that neither the Conseil scolaire nor the Fédération was entitled to assert the linguistic rights guaranteed by s. 23 or to bring an action to protect those rights. In response, the Conseil scolaire and the Fédération filed affidavits describing their respective roles in the promotion and protection of French language education and culture in the province. They attached to these affidavits 195 pages of French language exhibits and sought a declaration that the exhibits could be considered by the court without a certified translation. The application in this regard was dismissed