First Session, Forty-fourth Parliament, 70-71 Elizabeth II – 1 Charles III, 2021-2022-2023 |
HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA |
An Act to amend the Department of Canadian Heritage Act (Court Challenges Program)
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FIRST READING, March 6, 2023
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Mr. McKinnon |
This enactment amends the Department of Canadian Heritage Act to specify that, in exercising the powers and performing the duties and functions assigned to the Minister of Canadian Heritage under that Act, he or she shall maintain the Court Challenges Program.
Available on the House of Commons website at the following address:
www.ourcommons.ca
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1st Session, 44th Parliament, 70-71 Elizabeth II – 1 Charles III, 2021-2022-2023 |
HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA |
BILL C-316 |
An Act to amend the Department of Canadian Heritage Act (Court Challenges Program) |
Whereas the Government of Canada first created the Court Challenges Program in 1978 to help official language minority communities take legal action to clarify and affirm their language rights;
Whereas, following the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the scope of the Court Challenges Program was broadened to include new language rights as well as human rights;
Whereas, in 1992, the Government of Canada cancelled the Court Challenges Program before restoring it in 1994 and then cancelling it and restoring it several times over the years;
Whereas it is of utmost importance for Canadians to be able to bring before the courts test cases of national significance that aim to clarify and assert certain constitutional and quasi-constitutional official language rights and human rights, particularly such rights that are recognized and guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
And whereas Parliament recognizes the need to entrench into law an independently administered program to give a voice to those who might not have the ability to bring court challenges forward in order to clarify, expand and breathe life into constitutional equality, linguistic rights and human rights, particularly such rights that are recognized and guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and to hold government to account;
Now, therefore, His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
1 This Act may be cited as the Court Challenges Program Act.
1995, c. 11
(a.1) establish and implement an independently administered program whose objective is to provide financial support to Canadians to bring before the courts test cases of national significance that aim to clarify and assert certain constitutional and quasi-constitutional official language rights and human rights; and
End of inserted block4 The Court Challenges Program that was originally established in 1978 by the Government of Canada and that has been administered since 2019 by the University of Ottawa is deemed to have been established under paragraph 5(a.1) of the Department of Canadian Heritage Act, as enacted by section 2 of this Act.
Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons
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