L’Observatoire international des droits linguistiques

In this case, Michael Moreau sought a mandatory injunction against the Halifax Port Authority to compel the defendants to file their pleadings and evidence in French, while communicating with him “informally” in English, even though he had chosen French as the language of the proceedings. He relied in particular on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Official Languages Act to support the existence of a right to “bilingual” proceedings and to the translation of an affidavit filed in English.
The Federal Court dismissed the motion. It noted that language rights in court proceedings establish a right to choose either official language (“optional unilingualism”), but not a right to require the simultaneous and interchangeable use of both languages in the same proceeding. Relying in particular on Supreme Court case law, including Mazraani v. Industrielle Alliance and Charlebois v. Saint John, the Court confirmed that neither the Charter nor the OLA confer a right to the translation of affidavit evidence.

In the absence of a strong appearance of right, irreparable harm, and a preponderance of inconveniences in its favor, the injunction was denied. The decision thus reaffirms that judicial language rights protect the freedom of linguistic choice of litigants, but do not create a general obligation of full procedural bilingualism.