Translating the Laws of Canada: 1841-1935.

• Author: Otis, Alain

The first Parliament of the Province of Canada was called into session in June 1841. It was not altogether clear that the laws would be translated. The Union Act provided that: "... from and after the said Re-union of the said Two Provinces ... all Writs and public Instruments whatsoever relating to the said Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly ... shall be in the English Language only ...". While no rules actually prohibited translation, the Act did stipulate that "... no such Copy shall be kept among the Records of the Legislative Council or Legislative Assembly, or be deemed in any Case to have the Force of an original Record." The process of translating the laws thus got off to an inauspicious start, but the practice would develop over time and become better organized. This article looks at the establishment of a translation process that has become a model for countries having more than one official language.

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The Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland promulgated a law on July 23, 1840 that served to unite the provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada and to give a constitution to this new political entity, the Province of Canada. This statute was known as the Union Act. The Union Act made English the only language of legislation and Parliament. When Parliament convened in June 1841, both of its houses--the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly--appointed French and English translators. This was necessary because French was the only language understood by a large portion of the Canadian population. Several years later, when the Parliament of Canada adopted a resolution asking the British Parliament to amend this provision of the Act and to permit the use of French, the argument was in fact made that all government documents were translated into French from the very first Session and the use of French was allowed during debates and before the courts. (1)

Translating the Laws

The Bill proposed by Etienne Parent, member for Saguenay, relating to translation of laws received Royal Assent on September 18, 1841. Henceforth the Laws of Canada would not be in English only! The preamble of the Act to provide for the translation into the French Language of the Laws of this Province ... defines the capabilities and skills a translator must possess. Such an individual must be a "... competent person, versed in legal knowledge and having received a classical French education, and possessing a sufficient knowledge of the English language ..." The Act was adopted without great debate in either the Assembly or the Legislative Council.

The following December a contract was given for the translation of the laws for 1841 to Joseph Edouard Turcotte, lawyer and member for Saint-Maurice in the Legislative Assembly. Born in Gentilly in October 1808 Turcotte pursued his classical education in the Nicolet seminary. He had initially planned to enter the priesthood, but was seriously injured during a visit to a sawmill during his summer vacation in 1831 and suffered the loss of his right arm. Under Church Canon 984, an individual who has lost an arm can no longer be ordained as a priest. Turcotte then turned to the law and began articling in Quebec City. He was called to the Bar in 1836. Turcotte also tried politics and defended "patriots" following the 1837-38 rebellion. In 1839, he left Quebec City and settled in Trois-Rivieres, stood as a candidate and was elected in Saint-Maurice during the first elections to the Assembly. Since Members of Parliament were not allowed to accept remunerative employment while serving in the Assembly, Turcotte was obliged to resign his office. He did so, but ran again in July 1842 and was re-elected. Using his left hand, Turcotte translated the statutes of the Province of Canada for 1841, 1842 and 1843.

Organization of translation in the Assembly

In 1842, the first statutes were translated only after they had been enacted, but from that date, draft legislation was translated as well. However, not every bill was translated at first. A special committee created in December 1844 to review the translation situation in the Assembly provided certain clarifications on the matter. Assembly Clerk William B. Lindsay was called before the committee on December 12 and was asked whether the bills introduced in the House were so generally presented in French by the Members as to obviate the necessity of translating them. Mr. Lindsay answered no and said that for the 1843 session the translators were sent for beforehand, so as to translate the measures of government. Lindsay was then asked whether all draft legislation was translated before being tabled for second reading. He replied that it has not been done hitherto, but it was always liable to be so if asked for.

The translation of draft legislation quickly became more systematic, as can be seen in the aftermath of the fire that destroyed the Parliament Buildings in Montreal on April 25, 1849. Three days after the disaster a report to the Legislative Council noted that of the 22 Bills before the Council twenty were in English and French.

On December 17, 1844, the Assembly decided to obtain the services of a "government French translator." One of this person's tasks would be to translate the laws. The position was given to Thomas Amyot, a lawyer and former Clerk in Chancery in the Assembly of Lower Canada. Oddly enough, Amyot was appointed Deputy Provincial Registrar the following year, which might suggest that the duties involved in translating the laws or the work in the office of the Deputy Provincial Registrar were light. According to a statement of the Provincial Secretary dated June 14, 1850 Mr. Amyot was appointed Deputy Provincial Registrar but never came to this province, i.e. Toronto, to fulfill these duties. In any event, Mr. Amyot held a position in the Department of the Provincial Secretary and also acted as Government translator, and for his work as a translator received an annual salary of 250 [pounds sterling].

The manner in which translation was organized in the Assembly in the early 1850s left much to be desired. This situation was confirmed by one observer at that time, Antoine Gerin-Lajoie. Gerin-Lajoie was present at the Legislative Assembly in Quebec City in 1852, working as a journalist for La Minerve. On November 2, he was appointed to the position of supernumerary translator. Gerin-Lajoie quickly realized how poorly the service was organized. "Everyone works in any way he chooses," he noted with disdain in his diary.

There was no shortage of work in the office of the French translators, who were required to spend 12 to 15 hours each day translating draft legislation, among other texts, and proofreading the French of translated texts, all documents submitted in French and particularly bills tabled for third reading. This effort required the chief translator to read the draft legislation while the Law Clerk followed in the original text.

On November 8, 1852, the Standing Committee on Contingencies which oversaw the translation process, conducted an investigation following the October 1851 departure of Chief Translator Henri Voyer. The investigation report cast light on two aspects of the translation process. The first was the translation method, especially for bills tabled for third reading, and the second was the chief translator's role in the process. The report noted that...