Quebec justice minister has 'no power' to say judges don't need English, court finds

Quebec's justice minister does not have "any power" when it comes to deciding whether or not judges in the province should be bilingual, Quebec's Superior Court has ruled.

The ruling is a victory for Quebec Court Chief Judge Lucie Rondeau, who had requested that all judges appointed in the province be bilingual. 

She argued that bilingualism was essential for judges in regions such as Longueuil, where it was impossible to predict which cases could require a knowledge of English.

Quebecers have the right to request court proceedings take place in the language of their choosing.

Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette wanted the bilingualism requirement eliminated, saying English proficiency kept unilingual francophone lawyers from applying for the positions, even in areas of the province that have few people who speak English.

The minister did not include the English requirement from five recruitment notices for new judges, even though the language requirement was part of the chief judge's criteria.

Superior Court Judge Christian Immer ruled, in his decision made public on Wednesday, that the minister does not have any power over the content of the notices, and that Jolin-Barrette exceeded his powers by changing them.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Jolin-Barrette stood by his position that English should not be a prerequisite.

"What I said was, to submit your candidacy to become a judge, it's not true that systematically, everywhere in Quebec, you need English proficiency," he said.

"What is really important is that each Quebecer has a right to be named to a function like that."

Tensions flare at National Assembly

Opposition leader Dominique Anglade fired at the CAQ government during question period Thursday.

The Liberal leader pointed to both the Superior Court decision and the now-defunct plan to expand Dawson College, an English CEGEP in Montreal, as examples of how the government is not looking out for anglophones in the province.

"We don't just defend the majority of Quebecers. We defend all Quebecers," she said.

Premier François Legault said the Coalition Avenir Québec government is defending the French language. 

"At the CAQ we think that a judge who speaks French, but doesn't speak English, should be able to be a judge in Saint-Jérôme. The Liberals think a judge in Saint-Jérôme needs to speak English. We have a difference of opinion," he said.

The other major opposition parties seemed to agree with the government on this issue. 

Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said there needs to be balance between the right of francophone lawyers to become judges, and the right of English Quebecers to have access to the justice system.

"If you ask bilingualism of all judges across Quebec, it's abusive. And if you have only judges that speak solely French, it's also problematic," he expressed. "But anywhere in between is a solution."

Québec Solidaire house leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said the government needs more data on where bilingual judges might be necessary.

"I think in Quebec, francophone judges shouldn't be discriminated against. That's clear and I think there's a consensus on that," he said. "Now, what we need is to clearly decide where it's important that judges are bilingual. Right now, we don't know that."