Gilles Caron, of Edmonton, was issued a traffic ticket in 2003. Mr. Caron, whose first language is French, fought the ticket, arguing that the ticket, Alberta statutes and his court hearing should all be available in French. A provincial court judge dismissed the ticket charge, finding that the statute was inoperative because the province of Alberta was constitutionally required to publish its legislation in both French and English. However, the Alberta Court of Appeal recently ruled against Mr. Caron, stating “Must the statutes of the province of Alberta be printed and published in English and French? No.” The Court of Appeal undertook an extensive review of western Canadian history and concluded: “…the fact that there is no constitutional document entrenching language rights in Alberta, whereas other constitutional documents (B.N.A Act, 1867 a, 133; Manitoba Act, 1870, s. 23; Charter of Rights, s. 16) clearly do so for other jurisdictions, is an insurmountable obstacle for the appellants.” Mr. Caron intends to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
About Teresa Mitchell
