Question Period Note: Court Challenges Program

The reinstated Court Challenges Program has been operational since January 14, 2019. On February 5, 2020, media reported that the Court Challenges Program has awarded $250,000 to the English Montreal School Board: $125,000 to fund its challenge of Quebec’s secularism law (Bill 21) and an additional $125,000 to fund its challenge regarding the transfer of two of its schools to the Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l’Île. On February 6, the English Montreal School Board announced that it would not use federal funding for a court challenge. On February 13, the English Montreal School Board asked the Government of Quebec to allow it to use the federal funding, to which it responded by the negative.

• The objective of the Court Challenges Program is to provide individuals and groups in Canada with financial support to bring cases of national significance before the courts related to certain constitutional and quasi-constitutional official language and human rights.
• The Court Challenges Program receives $5 million in annual funding and is implemented and administered by the University of Ottawa, an independent organization at arm’s length from the Government. Funding decisions are made by two independent expert panels.
• The Government does not have access to information regarding funding applications or cases receiving funding.

• In the November 2015 mandate letters, the Prime Minister asked the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada to work together to restore a modernized the Court Challenges Program (CCP).
• The total funding is $5 million per year, of which a minimum of $1.5 million is allocated to the clarification of language rights. It is up to the Expert Panels to agree how to allocate the remainder of the amount to either human rights or official language rights.
• The reinstatement of the CCP was publicly announced on February 7, 2017. On September 1, 2017, the Minister of Canadian Heritage announced the creation of the Selection Committee to develop a short list of candidates for the two Independent Expert Panels responsible for funding decisions.
• The selection of members of the Expert Panels was announced on November 20, 2018. The Expert Panels are composed of 7 experts respectively. There has been a vacancy on the Expert Panel on Official Language Rights since December 2018.
• The Program has been fully operational since January 14, 2019. The Program’s 2019 annual report indicates that the Panels granted financial support to 31 cases, of which 17 related to official language rights and 14 to human rights. The annual report does not provide any specific information on funded cases.
• Funding may be provided to any person, group of persons in Canada or organization incorporated in Canada who requires financial assistance to present a test case of national importance concerning the rights and freedoms covered by the Program.
• The rights covered by the modernized Program now include among others freedom of religion, expression, assembly and association (section 2 of the Charter), democratic rights (section 3 of the Charter) and the right to life, liberty and security of the person (section 7 of the Charter). Justiciable parts of the Official Languages Act will now also be eligible for funding. These parts include, among others Part IV (communications with and services to the public), Part V (language of work) and Part VII (advancement of English and French in Canada).

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