---
title: "Goldwater, Dubé Supports the Barreau's Legal Challenge ✦ Goldwater Droit"
meta:
  "og:description": "Goldwater, Dubé backs the Barreau du Québec and Barreau de Montréal in their challenge of the Québec government's legislative translation practices."
  "og:title": "Goldwater, Dubé Supports the Barreau's Legal Challenge"
  description: "Goldwater, Dubé backs the Barreau du Québec and Barreau de Montréal in their challenge of the Québec government's legislative translation practices."
---

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# Statement: Goldwater, Dubé Supports the Barreau du Québec and the Barreau de Montréal in Their Legal Challenge Against the Québec Government

24 May 2018

3 min read

[Constitutional & Appellate](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights?topic=constitutional-appellate) [Firm & People](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights?topic=firm-people) [Firm News](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights?category=firm-news)

MONTRÉAL (May 24, 2018) — Anne-France Goldwater and Marie-Hélène Dubé, the managing partners of Goldwater, Dubé, would like to express their support for the Barreau du Québec and the Barreau de Montréal in their Superior Court challenge against the Québec government concerning the translation of laws in the province.

The firm believes that the legislature must respect the constitutional requirements of Section 133 of the _Constitution Act, 1867_, which states that "The Acts of the Parliament of Canada and of the Legislature of Quebec shall be printed and published in both those Languages."

This initiative is _not_ "political" — it is simply the Barreau seeking to uphold the laws of the country and protect access to justice. Official language rights are rooted in our Constitution, and the Supreme Court has long been committed to upholding the rule that the official languages of our laws and courts are French _and_ English (_Blaikie et al.,_ 1978).

As the Barreau raises in its challenge, the Québec government is doing exactly what Manitoba did before the Supreme Court struck it down over 30 years ago (_Reference re Manitoba Language Rights_, 1985): laws are enacted in only one language, and a translation — often a poor one — is produced only after the fact.

Our government should consider both versions (French and English) of a bill before enacting the law. The rule in Canada is that where both a French and an English version of the law exist, the Court must attempt to harmonize them and find the _best_ interpretation. Enacting an erroneous English translation after the fact could result in the English version being considered the one in force, because it is _more recent_.

The problem of frequent grammatical errors resulting from translation is also troubling. The primary concern is that faulty translations can lead to misinterpretations of the law.

Adding to this problem is the fact that the Québec government does not require its lawyers to have proficiency in written English. The Barreau rightly points out that this "creates situations where jurists are unable to appreciate the exact meaning of the English versions of laws and regulations."

Goldwater, Dubé urges the Québec government to cooperate with the Barreau du Québec and the Barreau de Montréal to remedy this longstanding issue. We encourage our dear colleagues in the legal community to set aside politics and focus on our role as officers of justice who uphold the Constitution and the validity of our laws.

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