L’Observatoire international des droits linguistiques

On at least one occasion, the judge remarked that she had difficulty understanding the accused’s French. Appellant submits that there was an infringement of his linguistic rights protected by Section 14 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms:

14. A party or witness in any proceedings who does not understand or speak the language in which the proceedings are conducted or who is deaf has the right to the assistance of an interpreter.

14. La partie ou le témoin qui ne peuvent suivre les procédures, soit parce qu’ils ne comprennent pas ou ne parlent pas la langue employée, soit parce qu’ils sont atteints de surdité, ont droit à l’assistance d’un interprète.

When an accused does not understand or speak the language of the proceedings, a court has an obligation (independent of any request) to provide an interpreter.59 This does not mean that a court must always inquire into the language proficiency of an accused.60 Before this Court, the burden is on Appellant to establish on a balance of probabilities that in the circumstances of this case he needed the assistance of an interpreter either because he could not adequately speak or understand French.61 This is the first part of the test laid down by the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Tran to determine if language rights under the Charter have been infringed in the accused’s trial. (para 120-121)