Language of Trial

• Author: Steve Coughlan/Alex Gorlewski
• Pages: 276-281

276 Preliminary Matters / Pre-trial Motions

2.5(d) Language of Trial

Is the accused’s preferred language an oicial

language of Canada?1

Yes No

The accused may apply to be

tried in their oicial language or

in both languages.

The accused may apply to

be tried in the oicial language

in which they can best give

testimony or in both languages.

Has the accused applied in time?2

Yes No3

Has the court granted the order?4The court may

still make an order

if satisfied that it is

in the interests of

justice

Yes No

The accused

will have various

language rights

for the duration of

the proceedings5

The proceedings

continue as normal5

Special rules concerning language of trial have been placed in the Criminal

Code, RSC 1985, c C-46 [Code], intended to reect the fact that Canada has two

ocial languages while at the same time making allowance for the fact that

not all persons speak both ocial languages.

As a practical matter, of course, trials in almost all locations in Canada will

have a “default” language in which they naturally occur. Although not framed

in this way, the implicit assumption of the language of trial provisions, con-

tained in Part XVII of the Code, is that sometimes an accused will be a mem-

ber of the linguistic minority of their particular province (or in the case of the

Territories, speaks the less-spoken between English and French) and will be

applying for a trial in the language that would not automatically be used. Re-

ecting that New Brunswick is the only ocially bilingual province, the rules

apply slightly dierently there (see note 4, below).