CANADA AND MANITOBA GOVERNMENTS SIGN NEW
AGREEMENT ON CONTRAVENTIONS TO ENSURE RESPECT
FOR THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES

OTTAWA, February 24, 2004 - The Governments of Canada and Manitoba today announced a new agreement concerning the Contraventions Act to provide for the application of concrete measures to meet the needs of Francophones in the province. The agreement was made possible by a contribution of $1.6 million over five years from the Department of Justice as part of the Government of Canada's Action Plan for Official Languages.

"The Government of Canada is committed to acknowledging the full recognition and use of minority language rights - of English and French - in Canadian society, and this agreement will provide some of the means required for this purpose." I especially encourage Franco-Manitobans to make use of them," said Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Irwin Cotler.

"This agreement will help improve access to justice by making service in French more easily and fully available in court locations across this province," said Manitoba Attorney General Gord Mackintosh.

Under the Contraventions Act, the Minister of Justice may negotiate agreements with the provinces, territories and municipalities to ensure that offences under federal legislation are dealt with in the same way as provincial or territorial offences are handled under the offence scheme that exists in that province or territory. In Manitoba, contraventions have been prosecuted since 1997 in accordance with the Summary Convictions Act.

The Government of Canada has agreed to renegotiate its agreement with the province of Manitoba in order to comply with the decision of the Federal Court on the obligations that arise under the Contraventions Act with respect to official languages. It accordingly agrees to increase the level of services in both official languages in the administration of the courts in the province in relation to the prosecution of federal contraventions. A simple amendment to the Application of Provincial Laws Regulations will also make it possible to recognize the language rights of accused persons at the time of the trial.

The Department of Justice is working closely with representatives of the Government of Manitoba, the Association des juristes d'expression française du Manitoba and other parties to ensure that Franco-Manitobans are informed of their rights under this agreement.

The Department of Justice has concluded a similar agreement with Ontario and intends to develop further agreements with provinces, territories and municipalities over the next few years.

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Backgrounder - Application of the Contraventions Act under the agreement with Manitoba

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