Language Rights for Family Courts in British Columbia

Summary#

This Order sets December 1, 2024 as the day when section 22.1 of An Act to amend the Divorce Act, the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act and the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act comes into force in British Columbia. That section creates language rights in federal family-law proceedings so people can use English or French in court.

What it does#

• Fixes December 1, 2024 as the coming-into-force date in British Columbia for section 22.1 of the named Act.
• Gives people in federal family court proceedings the right to use either official language (English or French) for:
  • filing pleadings or other documents,
  • giving evidence and making submissions,
  • requesting simultaneous interpretation into the other official language,
  • having a presiding judge who speaks the same official language (or both),
  • getting a transcript or recording in the language in which something was said,
  • requesting any judgment or order in their own official language.
• Requires court forms to be made available in both official languages (English and French).

Who's affected#

• People involved in federal family-law cases in British Columbia — for example, people separating or divorcing who use English or French.
• Lawyers, court staff, and interpreters who work on family cases in the federal court system in the province.
• Official language minority communities (OLMCs) in Canada. According to the 2021 Census, nearly 1,000,000 Francophones live outside Quebec and over 1,250,000 Anglophones live in Quebec — these are examples of the groups the provision aims to help.
• It is unclear from the Order whether there will be immediate cost or staffing changes for courts; those implementation details are left to the province and courts.

Why it matters#

• The change makes it easier for people in BC to use the official language they prefer in federal family court, which can reduce misunderstandings and make the process fairer.
• It responds to long-standing calls from minority-language communities for better access to justice in their language.
• The language-rights rule is already in force in other jurisdictions (Manitoba, 2021; Yukon and Nunavut, 2021; Ontario and Saskatchewan, 2022), so this brings British Columbia in line with those provinces and territories.