Supporting the Vitality
of Canada's Minority
Language Communities.

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The International Observatory on Language Rights

The International Observatory on Language Rights aims, on the one hand, to promote the vitality of minority language communities in Canada by urging these communities to take part in the development of their rights and, on the other hand, to acquaint other countries with the Canadian experience by sharing with them how Canada has dealt with its official languages problems. Conversely, the Observatory hopes to help Canadians gain better insight into the linguistic situation in other countries, thereby providing an opportunity to learn from their experience, and offering different problem-solving avenues.

R v Bassi, 2015 ONCJ 340

During the course of the initial detention and arrest, and then later in the breath room, there were several points where issues were raised by Mr. Bassi about not understanding things said by the officers. In the breath room, Mr. Bassi told the breath technician, Constable Simmonds, that he was Punjabi, that English was not his first language, that he sometimes did not pick up things in English, and that he understood probably 90 percent of what duty counsel had told him. At no time did the any of the officers who dealt with Mr. Bassi offer the assistance of a Punjabi speaking officer, Punjabi speaking duty counsel, or a Punjabi interpreter for the purpose of consulting with counsel. Crown counsel Crown concedes that each of these were readily available in the jurisdiction.

The primary issue in this case is whether the police complied with their informational and implementational duties under s. 10(b) of the Charter as they relate to language. (para 3-4)

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