Reference Re Public Schools Act (Man.), (1990) 64 Man.R.(2d) 1 (CA)

• Judge: Monnin, C.J.M., Hall, O'Sullivan, Philp and Twaddle, JJ.A.
• Court: Court of Appeal (Manitoba)
• Case Date: February 06, 1990
• Jurisdiction: Manitoba
• Citations: (1990), 64 Man.R.(2d) 1 (CA)

Ref. Re Public Schools Act (1990), 64 Man.R.(2d) 1 (CA)

MLB headnote and full text

[French language version follows English language version]

[La version française vient à la suite de la version anglaise]

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In The Matter Of The Constitutional Questions Act, being Chapter C-180, C.C.S.M.;

And In The Matter Of A reference pursuant thereto by the Lieutenant Governor-in-Council to the Court of Appeal for Manitoba for hearing and consideration of questions relating to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, being Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982 and The Public Schools Act, being Chapter P-250, C.C.S.M., and subsections 79(3), 79(4) and 79(7) thereof.

(57/88)

Indexed As: Reference Re Public Schools Act (Man.)

Manitoba Court of Appeal

Monnin, C.J.M., Hall, O'Sullivan, Philp and Twaddle, JJ.A.

February 6, 1990.

Summary:

The Lieutenant Governor-in-Council referred several questions to the Court of Appeal relating to the constitutional validity of ss. 79(3), (4) and (7) of the Manitoba Public Schools Act, respecting ss. 15 and 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Manitoba Court of Appeal answered the questions.

Civil Rights - Topic 2884

Language - Education - Minority language education rights - General - Monnin, C.J.M., of the Manitoba Court of Appeal stated that "Section 23 [of the Charter] is really a compendium of two rights: (1) the right to effective instruction in the minority language, and (2) the right of instruction in facilities specially reserved for that purpose for the minority" - See paragraph 30.

Civil Rights - Topic 2884

Language - Education - Minority language education rights - General - Twaddle, J.A. (Philp, J.A., concurring), and Monnin, C.J.M., of the Manitoba Court of Appeal, in separate reasons, discussed the history of minority language educational rights in Manitoba - See paragraphs 16 to 28, 32 to 53, 187 to 235.

Civil Rights - Topic 2884

Language - Education - Minority language education rights - General - Twaddle, J.A. (Philp, J.A., concurring), and Monnin, C.J.M., of the Manitoba Court of Appeal, in separate reasons, discussed the purpose of s. 23 of the Charter - See paragraphs 69 to 71, 236 to 242.

Civil Rights - Topic 2884

Language - Education - Minority language education rights - General - O'Sullivan, J.A., of the Manitoba Court of Appeal rejected the notion that s. 23 conferred rights on minorities - See paragraphs 155 to 157.

Civil Rights - Topic 2885

Language - Education - Minority language education rights - When applicable - Section 23 of the Charter guaranteed minority language educational rights "where numbers warrant" - Section 23 was silent respecting the specific numbers required to trigger the guarantee - Monnin, C.J.M., O'Sullivan, Philp and Twaddle, JJ.A., of the Manitoba Court of Appeal held that ss. 79(3), (4) and (7) of Manitoba's Public Schools Act did not meet the province's obligations under s. 23, insofar as the number of students entitled to minority language instruction was concerned - The court agreed that provincial legislation should not set any fixed number, as did the Public Schools Act, which set the fixed number at 23 - Monnin, C.J.M., further noted other deficiencies in the Act - Hall, J.A., held that the Act was adequate in meeting its constitutional obligation - See paragraphs 72 to 86, 169 to 170, 172, 177, 183, 259 to 261 and 292 to 293.

Civil Rights - Topic 2885

Language - Education - Minority language education rights - When applicable - Section 23 of the Charter guaranteed minority language educational rights "if numbers warrant" - The section was silent respecting the number of students required to trigger the guarantee - Twaddle, J.A. (Philp, J.A., concurring), and O'Sullivan, J.A., of the Manitoba Court of Appeal held that the legislature may not specify any number as either a minimum number or guideline for the provision of French-language education; Monnin, C.J.M., disagreed - O'Sullivan, J.A., held that the legislature could not delegate the determination of a minimum number or whether numbers warrant to a school board, Minister or other body, but could delegate the task of judging on particular facts whether numbers warrant to anyone, subject to judicial review - Twaddle and Philp, JJ.A., held that the legislature could not delegate to anyone the determination of a minimum number, but could authorize a Minister or suitable new body to determine if numbers warrant, subject to judicial review - Monnin, C.J.M., held that the legislature could not delegate to the Minister, school division or district, but may delegate to the Lieutenant Governor-in-Council - Hall, J.A., gave no opinion - See paragraphs 87 to 89, 90 to 93, 175, 178, 183 and 295.

Civil Rights - Topic 2886

Language - Education - Minority language education rights - Facilities defined - Section 23 of the Charter guaranteed minority language educational rights in "minority language education facilities" - Twaddle, J.A. (Philp, J.A., concurring), and O'Sullivan, J.A., of the Manitoba Court of Appeal held that the facilities should as far as possible, be distinct from those in which English-language education is offered, but not necessarily separate, unless numbers warrant - Monnin, C.J.M., held that the facilities should be both totally distinct and separate - Hall, J.A., held that s. 23 did not include the right to receive instructions in a distinct physical setting - See paragraphs 94 to 97, 126, 140 to 141, 143, 166, 173 to 175, 180, 183, 257, 262 to 268 and 296.

Civil Rights - Topic 2888

Language - Education - Invalid provincial legislation - [See first Civil Rights - Topic 2885 ].

Civil Rights - Topic 2890

Language - Education - Right of minority to control its schools - Section 23 of the Charter guaranteed minority language educational rights - Monnin, C.J.M., O'Sullivan, Philp and Twaddle, JJ.A., of the Manitoba Court of Appeal held that s. 23 did not either expressly or impliedly confer on the minority the right to control, manage or govern minority language instruction and facilities - Monnin, C.J.M., held that rectification of the present system was, however, required because the minority's s. 15 Charter rights were violated; O'Sullivan, Twaddle and Philp, JJ.A., disagreed - Monnin, C.J.M., held that Manitoba's Public Schools Act was therefore inadequate respecting management rights - Hall and O'Sullivan, JJ.A., gave no answer on the Act's adequacy; Twaddle, J.A. (Philp, J.A., concurring), in this regard would say only that the present system must be changed - See paragraphs 98 to 121, 132 to 139, 141 to 142, 145 to 154, 167 to 175, 181 to 183, 251, 269 to 291, 297 to 298.

Civil Rights - Topic 8484

Charter - Interpretation - Language rights - Twaddle, J.A. (Philp, J.A., concurring), Monnin, C.J.M., and O'Sullivan, J.A., of the Manitoba Court of Appeal, in separate reasons, discussed the interpretation of the Charter, particularly s. 23, in matters of language and educational rights - O'Sullivan, J.A., said that s. 23 must be interpreted in light of s. 27 of the Charter - See paragraphs 31, 54 to 68, 163, 272 to 273, 275.

Civil Rights - Topic 8701

Charter - Preservation of multicultural heritage - General - O'Sullivan, J.A., of the Manitoba Court of Appeal rejected the notion that biculturalism has been enshrined in the Canadian Constitution - O'Sullivan, J.A., stated that "there is no such thing as the French-Canadian culture just as there is no such thing as the English-Canadian culture ... What has been protected by s. 23 of the Charter is the language of the minority, not the culture of the minority ... the role of the Catholic Church in French culture has not been guaranteed by s. 23 ..." - See paragraphs 155, 158 to 161.

Practice - Topic 3871

References and inquiries - The report - Duty of appeal court respecting - O'Sullivan, J.A., of the Manitoba Court of Appeal stated that on a constitutional reference under the Manitoba Constitutional Questions Act, the court has a duty to hear or consider any matter referred to it, but retains a discretion not to certify its opinion on matters referred - See paragraphs 126 to 128.

Words and Phrases

Facilities - The Manitoba Court of Appeal discussed the meaning of the word "facilities" as found in the phrase "minority language educational facilities" in s. 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982 - See paragraphs 94 to 97, 129, 140 to 141, 143, 166, 173 to 175, 180, 183, 257, 262 to 268 and 296.

Cases Noticed:

Minority Language Educational Rights, Re (1984), 4 O.A.C. 321; 10 D.L.R.(4th) 491 (C.A.), consd. [para. 10].

Reference Re Minority Language Educational Rights (P.E.I.) (1988), 69 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 236; 211 A.P.R. 236 (C.A.), consd. [para. 10].

Mahé, Martel, Dubé and Association de l'École Georges et Julia Bugnet v. Alberta, [1987] 6 W.W.R. 331; 80 A.R. 161; 42 D.L.R.(4th) 514 (C.A.), consd. [para. 10].

Commission des Écoles Fransaskoises Inc. et al. v. Saskatchewan, [1988] 3 W.W.R. 354; 64 Sask.R. 123 (Q.B.), consd. [para. 10].

Lavoie et al. v. Nova Scotia (Attorney General) and Board of Education of Cape Breton School District (1988), 84 N.S.R.(2d) 387; 213 A.P.R. 387; 90 N.S.R.(2d) 16; 230 A.P.R. 16 (S.C.T.D.), (1989), 91 N.S.R.(2d) 184; 233 A.P.R. 184 (C.A.), consd. [para. 10].

Société des Acadiens du Nouveau-Brunswick Inc. et al. v. Minority Language School Board No. 50 et al., [1986] 1 S.C.R. 549; 66 N.R. 173; 69 N.B.R.(2d) 271; 177 A.P.R. 271, refd to. [para. 54].

R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd., [1985] 1 S.C.R. 295; 58 N.R. 81; 60 A.R. 161, refd to. [para. 55].

R. v. Therens, [1985] 1 S.C.R. 613; 59 N.R. 122; 40 Sask.R. 122, refd to. [para. 56].

Québec Association of Protestant School Boards et al. v. Attorney General of Québec et al., [1984] 2 S.C.R. 66; 54 N.R. 196, refd to. [para. 57].

Mercure v. Saskatchewan, [1988] 1 S.C.R. 234; 83 N.R. 81; 65 Sask.R. 1, refd to. [para. 66].

Reference Re Roman Catholic Separate High Schools Funding, [1987] 1 S.C.R. 1148; 77 N.R. 241; 22 O.A.C. 321, refd to. [para. 67].

Marchand v. Simcoe County Board of Education et al. (1986), 29 D.L.R.(4th) 596, refd to. [para. 71].

Rose v. Dever, [1972] 2 W.W.R. 431, refd to. [para. 103].

Andrews et al. v. Law Society of British Columbia et al., [1989] 1 S.C.R. 143; 91 N.R. 255, refd to. [para. 116].

United States v. Carolene Products Co. (1938), 304 U.S. 144, refd to. [para. 118].

City of Winnipeg v. Barrett, [1892] A.C. 445, refd to. [para. 171].

Forest v. Attorney General of Manitoba, [1979] 2 S.C.R. 1032; 30 N.R. 213, refd to. [para. 196].

Brophy v. Attorney General of Manitoba, [1895] A.C. 202, refd to. [para. 203].

Constitutional Amendment References 1981 (Man., Nfld., Que.), [1981] 1 S.C.R. 753; 39 N.R. 1; 11 Man.R.(2d) 1; 34 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 1; 95 A.P.R. 1, refd to. [para. 238].

Manitoba Language Rights Reference, [1985] 1 S.C.R. 721; 59 N.R. 321; 35 Man.R.(2d) 83, refd to. [para. 289].

Statutes Noticed:

British North America Act, 1867, generally [paras. 8, 211].

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982, sect. 15 [paras. 1, 4-5, 98, 115, 117-120, 124-125, 181, 283, 297]; sect. 16. sect. 17, sect. 18, sect. 19, sect. 20 [para. 285]; sect. 23 [paras. 1, 4-6, 11, 13, 30-31, 38-41, 46, 49, 57, 59, 69, 72, 74, 76, 80, 85-87, 95, 98, 100, 102-105, 112, 114, 117, 120, 124-125, 131-132, 141, 144-145, 147-148, 151-153, 156, 160-161, 163-164, 166-168, 174-175, 180-181, 238-239, 242, 252, 256, 262, 270, 274, 277, 279, 281-282, 287-288, 290-292, 296-297]; sect. 27 [paras. 158, 163].

Constitution Act, 1982, generally [paras. 113, 213-214].

Constitution Act, 1867, sect. 93(1) [paras. 113, 187, 189]; sect. 133 [para. 285].

Constitutional Questions Act, S.M. 1986-87, c. 31; C.C.S.M., c. C-180, sect. 1 [para. 126].

Education Reform Act (U.K.), generally [para. 166].

Manitoba Act 1870, generally [paras. 110, 171, 196, 201]; sect. 22 [paras. 189, 202, 204]; sect. 23 [para. 285].

Official Languages Act, S.C. 1968-69, c. 54, generally [para. 210].

Official Language Act, S.M. 1890, c. 14, generally [paras. 196, 199].

Public Schools Act, an Act to Amend the, S.M. 1966-67, c. 49, generally [para. 215].

Public Schools Act, R.S.M. 1970, c. P-250, c. 66, generally [paras. 26, 216-217].

Public Schools Act, R.S.M. 1987, c. P-250; C.C.S.M., c. P-250, sect. 41(5) [paras. 7, 82-83]; sect. 79(1) [para. 7]; sect. 79(3) [paras. 1, 7, 73, 77, 80, 85, 124-125, 176, 292]; sect. 79(4) [paras. 1, 7, 84, 124-125, 176, 292]; sect. 79(7) [paras. 1, 7, 124-125, 176, 292].

Public Schools Act, S.M. 1890, c. 38, generally [paras. 197, 199].

Public Schools Act, S.M. 1897, c. 26, sect. 10 [para. 205].

Public Schools Act, S.M. 1916, c. 88, generally [para. 206].

Public Schools Act, S.M. 1952, sect. 240 [para. 24].

Public Schools Act, S.M. 1980, c. 33; C.C.S.M., c. P-250, sect. 79(1) [para. 8].

Authors and Works Noticed:

Bureau de l'Éducation française, A Curriculum Policy for French-language Immersion Education, Interim Document (1987) [para. 232].

Canada, The Constitution and the People of Canada (February, 1969) [para. 42].

Chrétien, Jean, Proposed Resolution for a Joint Address to Her Majesty the Queen respecting the Constitution of Canada (October 2, 1980) [para. 45].

Constitutional Accord of Meech Lake (August 27, 1987) [para. 156].

Foucher, Pierre, Language Rights in Canada (1987), p. 264 [para. 15].

Hébert, Raymond and Marcel Bilodeau, French in Manitoba: Some Socio-Demographic Trends (1986) [para. 28].

Hogg, Constitutional Law of Canada (2nd Ed. 1985), p. 180 [para. 127].

Magnet, J.E., Minority Language Educational Rights (1982), 4 Supreme Court L.R., pp. 209-211 [para. 50].

McEvoy, John, Separation of Powers and the Reference Power: Is There a Right to Refuse? (1988), 10 Supreme Court L.R. 429 [para. 127].

Nicholls, Glenn and Guy L. Roy, A Report on Major Developments in French-language Education in Manitoba from 1970 to 1987 (July 18, 1988), generally [paras. 32, 226, 229-230]; pp. 48-50 [para. 33]; 101, 103 [para. 34].

Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism [paras. 41, 150].

Symonds, T.H.B., Report on French Language Secondary Education in Ontario (1972), pp. 12 [para. 49]; 15 [para. 48].

Counsel:

M.J. Smith and D.L. Carlson, for the Attorney General of Manitoba, applicant;

L.J. Roy, Q.C., and R.D. Gibson, for La Fédération provinciale des comités de parents, respondent;

Le Conseil jeunesse provincial, intervenor;

La Commission nationale des parents francophones, intervenor;

L'Association canadienne d'éducation de langue française (ACELF), intervenor and La Fédération des jeunes canadiens-français, intervenor;

R.R.J. Lafrenière, for the Attorney General of Canada, intervenor;

R. Buchan, for the Commissioner of Official Languages, intervenor;

R. Simpson, for the Manitoba Association of School Trustees, intervenor;

M. Bastarache, for La Société franco-manitobaine (SFM), intervenor.

This Constitutional Reference was heard before Monnin, C.J.M., Hall, O'Sullivan, Philp and Twaddle, JJ.A., of the Manitoba Court of Appeal on November 7-10 and December 13-14, 1988.

On February 6, 1990, the Court of Appeal delivered the following opinions:

Monnin, C.J.M. - see paragraphs 1 to 123;

O'Sullivan, J.A. - see paragraphs 124 to 175;

Hall, J.A. - see paragraphs 176 to 182;

Philp, J.A. - see paragraph 183;

Twaddle, J.A. - see paragraphs 184 to 298.