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remarked that the limited rights in section 20 seemed to contrast with section 16, which encourages growth in government bilingualism. However, she speculated
Parliament could use section 16 to heighten expectations for bilingualism in section 20, by giving the requirement for considerable interest
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violated section 20 by providing
English-only services, (1) by simply presuming there was no need for French services, (2) because there were penal consequences for anyone who disobeyed the law not provided in French, and (3) even though some French Canadians understood English, French was still
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of these offices on the federal level. Section 20 limits its rights only when dealing with the lower-level offices, where there must be considerable interest for services in both languages, or if the offices are filling a function that one would expect should be carried out in both languages.
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20.(1) Any member of the public in Canada has the right to communicate with, and to receive available services from, any head or central office of an institution of the
Parliament or government of Canada in English or French, and has the same right with respect to any other office of any such
544:
R. v. Bastarache (1992), 128 N.B.R. (2d) 217 (N.B.Q.B.)., Gautreau v. R., (1989), 101 N.B.R. (2d) 1 (N.B.Q.B.), Gingras v. Canada, 2 F.C. 68 (F.C.T.D.). The fact that not all police officers need to be bilingual was established in R. v. Haché, (1992), 127 N.B.R. (2d) 177
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Paul M. Sniderman, Joseph F. Fletcher, Peter H. Russell and Philip E. Tetlock, "Political
Culture and the Problem of Double Standards: Mass and Elite Attitudes toward Language Rights in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,"
393:(2) Any member of the public in New Brunswick has the right to communicate with, and to receive available services from, any office of an institution of the legislature or government of New Brunswick in English or French.
438:. As far as the text is concerned, these rights are even more extensive in respect to the government of New Brunswick, where there are no requirements for considerable interest for the right to exist.
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community, interest among the population, and relations between the people and the government. Statistics and the practices of the office might be of use in measuring these things.
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in bilingualism a flexible interpretation. Wilson did, however, write that courts could not employ this flexible interpretation.
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Section 20 applies to services from offices of
Parliament and the government of Canada, including government departments and the
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363:. Section 20's specific function is to establish a right to English and French services from the governments of Canada and
349:, section 20 is one of the few sections under the title "Official Languages of Canada" that guarantees bilingualism outside
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495:, (1993), it was found the government is not under any obligation to tell people that they have rights under section 20.
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In 1989, a few political scientists published a survey on the public's opinion on section 20. It indicated that
414:, although not all police officers need to be bilingual. The section's requirements are fully applicable to the
484:(1993), it was added that relevant factors for requiring bilingualism should include the number of people in a
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As section 20 applies to offices besides
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631:- Charter of Rights website with video, audio and the Charter in over 20 languages
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2003 Student Ed. Scarborough, Ontario: Thomson Canada
Limited, 2003, page 1151.
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Overview of section 20 case law at the
Canadian Legal Information Institute
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406:. According to some judicial decisions, it also applies to services from
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Constitutional right to receive government services in
English or French
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357:. This also makes it more extensive than language rights in the
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The requirement for considerable interest was interpreted in
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Professional
Institute of the Public Service v. The Queen
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Professional Institute of the Public Service v. The Queen
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Fundamental Freedoms: The Charter of Rights and Freedoms
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and in almost equal measure support the same rights for
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460:Société des Acadiens v. Association of Parents
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571:, (1989), 90 N.S.R. (2d) 77 (N.S. Cty. Ct.),
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404:bureaucracy
258:Application
210:Enforcement
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443:Peter Hogg
351:Parliament
347:section 16
317:Section 20
274:Citation
44:Preamble
453:In the
432:Charter
430:of the
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333:'s two
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222:General
509:Quebec
408:police
355:courts
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