LANG Committee Report

THE PROGRAM

            The Court Challenges Program (CCP) is a funding program providing for “the clarification of […] constitutional rights and freedoms […] thus achieving a better understanding, respect for, and enjoyment of human rights.”¹ To achieve this objective, the CCP provides financial assistance for “test cases of national significance” involving the following constitutional rights.

Table 1 — Constitutional Rights and Freed

oms Covered by the CCP

Source:    Contribution Agreement between the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Court Challenges Program, 2004. Compiled by Marion Ménard, Library of Parliament.

            The “test cases” must meet three criteria:

• “the intervention raises important and legally meritorious arguments for the resolution of the linguistic or equality rights issue(s) raised in the case;”
• “the arguments raised in the intervention are not covered in substance by the parties or other intervenors in the case; and”
• “the intervenors are, or are representative of, disadvantaged groups or individuals or official language linguistic minority groups or individuals that are directly affected by the outcome of the case.”²

            The language rights in question include those under both federal and provincial jurisdiction, insofar as they are protected by the sections of the Charter mentioned above. There is an important difference between the language rights and equality rights components of the CCP since for the latter the case must “challenge federal law, legislation, policies or practices” only.³ The Contribution Agreement specifically excludes all applications relating to complaints filed under the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Official Languages Act or any provincial or territorial statute pertaining to language rights.

            To be eligible, the cases must be brought by groups or individuals belonging to an official-language linguistic minority or disadvantaged groups or individuals or the non-profit organizations representing them.⁴ A non-profit corporation administers the CCP pursuant to the Contribution Agreement signed with the Department of Canadian Heritage, which is responsible for its sound management.

            The CCP funds various activities that are expected to contribute to attaining the Program’s objectives. Clause 6 of the Contribution Agreement stipulates the following activities:

• Program promotion, access and negotiation: Recipients may obtain funding to carry out activities providing information on participation in the CCP and to defray the cost of consultation with community representatives and jurists on specific cases. Recipients may also obtain funding for negotiation or recourse to recognized dispute resolution methods in order to avoid court proceedings.
• Case development: The CCP provides funding for activities exploring potential cases. Such activities may include a review of the case law, consultation of the appropriate individuals, and organizations and other research activities.
• Case funding: The CCP may provide financial assistance for activities undertaken in connection with legal proceedings based on a provision in the Constitution listed in Table 1.
• Impact studies: The CCP may provide financial assistance to offset costs incurred by recipients for the preparation of impact studies regarding important court decisions on matters defended by the CCP. These studies are released to the general public.

            The contribution agreement signed by the Department of Canadian Heritage and the CCP in November 2004 provides the corporation with annual funding of $2,850,000. This amount includes $750,000 in administration fees. The expenditures break down as follows:

Table 2 — Annual Expenses

Source:    Contribution Agreement between the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Court Challenges Program, 2004, Appendix A.

            Two panels of independent experts make decisions regarding funding, one for linguistic rights and one for equality rights. These two panels are independent from the CCP Board of Directors and have exclusive jurisdiction over their sector of activity. The members of these two panels are appointed for three-year terms. There are thus two separate programs managed by the same non-profit corporation.