Official Languages of Canada, New Essays

Description

Mapping the Evolution of Official Bilingualism in Canada

Butterworths Official Languages of Canada, New Essays is a comprehensive collection of essays describing how Canada's official languages were affected by the 1982 constitutional reforms. By delving into the historical background, the goals and the shortcomings of the nation's languages policy, these essays represent the most definitive and detailed analysis of the evolution of modern language rights in Canada ever assembled.

Professor Joseph Magnet, one of the nation's most respected constitutional lawyers, heads a team of some of North America's leading academics, lawyers, government officials and writers, each of whom lend their language rights expertise to this unique collection of essays. The resulting publication explores the interactions between minority language individuals and government, specifically the 1982 constitutional reforms - the historical legislation that embedded expanded bilingualism into the fabric of Canadian politics.

Features and Benefits

Considering that language conflicts have been at the heart of most of Canadian constitutional crises - both in the early days of Confederation and in recent times - there has been precious little academic writing devoted to this issue. Official Languages of Canada, New Essays fills this gap with:

• Eleven essays from some of the nation's top minds in this area, each of which helps the reader understand the basis for language guarantees and the constant foothold this discussion has had on the evolution of Canada as a nation
• A comparative analysis - the type of which is rarely found in legal literature - of language policies in Europe and the United States
• A table of cases, referring the reader to the key litigation that has helped define language rights within Canada

Delving into the Heart of the Matter

Official Languages of Canada, New Essays is an indispensable tool for all who work within or enter into the official languages sphere. It brings clarity to the process by which Canada adapted its constitution to deal with official language issues by providing the reader with an understanding of:

• The federal Official Languages Act, and the entrenched language guarantees of sections 16 to 23 of the Canadian Charter
• The historical battle for language rights in this nation, the present deficiencies within the system and a look at what the future holds for the nation's official language minorities
• How, beyond New Brunswick, there has been a massive shortcoming in the growth of provincial minority language services
• How the courts will play a much greater role in language planning in the years to come and how language rights activists must prepare themselves for this eventuality
• The justifications of language regulation within political theory

A Valuable Resource For:

• Academics who need to understand the history of official language issues and require analysis of the future trends in this area
• Constitutional specialists who are seeking guidance about official language issues as they relate to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Language advocates who need to stay on top of the issues and understand the dynamic role the courts play in the evolution of official language policy

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Table of Contents

Avant Propos
Contested Ground: The State and Language Rights in Canada, 1760-2000
Language Rights in Canada: A Theoretical Approach
The Promise of Canada’s Official Languages Declaration
Does Beaulac Reorient Judicial Bilingualism?
Constitutional Guarantees for Official Languages in the Legislative Process
Section 20 of the Charter
Section 23 of the Charter: Minority Language Educational Rights
The Future of Canada's Official Language Minorities
Institutional Reform: Maintenance Claims and Equality for Canada’s Official Language Minorities
Language Rights in Comparative Perspective: Europe
Loose Ends in a Tattered Fabric: The Inconsistency of Language Rights in the United States

Author/Contributor

Joseph E. Magnet, F.R.S.C., B.A., LL.B., LL.M., Ph.D.

Joseph Eliot Magnet, F.R.S.C., B.A., LL.B., LL.M., Ph.D., is one of Canada’s most respected constitutional lawyers. He clerked for Chief Justice Brian Dickson at the Supreme Court of Canada; served as Crown Counsel in Ottawa; Distinguished Visiting Professor, Boalt Hall Law School, University of California, Berkeley; Visiting Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Haifa, Israel; Visiting Professor, Central European University, Budapest; Distinguished Visiting Professor, Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University; and Visiting Professor Université de Paris, France. Professor Magnet has acted as counsel in 200 constitutional cases in the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, and the trial and appellate courts of Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba.

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