This enactment amends the Department of Canadian Heritage Act to specify that, in exercising the powers and performing the duties and functions assigned to the Minister of Canadian Heritage under that Act, he or she shall maintain the Court Challenges Program.

Preamble

Whereas the Government of Canada first created the Court Challenges Program in 1978 to help official language minority communities take legal action to clarify and affirm their language rights;

Whereas, following the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the scope of the Court Challenges Program was broadened to include new language rights as well as human rights;

Whereas, in 1992, the Government of Canada cancelled the Court Challenges Program before restoring it in 1994 and then cancelling it and restoring it several times over the years;

Whereas it is of utmost importance Insertion start that it be possible Insertion end to bring before the courts test cases of national significance that aim to clarify and assert certain constitutional and quasi-constitutional official language rights and human rights, particularly such rights that are recognized and guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;

And whereas Parliament recognizes the need to entrench into law an independently administered program to give a voice to those who might not have the ability to bring court challenges forward in order to clarify, expand and breathe life into constitutional equality, linguistic rights and human rights, particularly such rights that are recognized and guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and to hold government to account;

Now, therefore, His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

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  (a.‍1) establish and implement the program referred to in section 7.‍1 of this Act and paragraph 43(1)‍(c) of the Official Languages Act that is administered by an organization independent of the Government of Canada and whose purpose is to provide funding for test cases of national significance to be brought before the courts to clarify and assert constitutional and quasi-constitutional official language rights and constitutional human rights that are guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; and

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Annual report

5.‍1 (1) The independent organization responsible for administering the program Insertion start referred to in section 7.‍1 of this Act and paragraph 43(1)‍(c) of the Official Languages Act Insertion end shall, each year, submit to the Minister a report on the administration of the program, in which it shall set out a summary of its organizational activities to demonstrate the impact of its work and provide a transparent picture of the direction, goals and financial performance of the program, as well as an overview of the cases that received funding in the previous year Insertion start and any outreach and promotional activities that were conducted with groups affected by these cases Insertion end .

Annual report – additional content

(1.‍1) The annual report shall also state, for each of the program’s two components, the number of applications that were denied funding.

Tabling in Parliament

(2) The Minister shall cause the annual report to be tabled before each House of Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after the Minister receives the report.