R v Mercure
Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
Hearing: November 26, 27, 1986
Judgment: February 25, 1988
Full case nameAndré Mercure v Attorney General for Saskatchewan
Citations[1988] 1 SCR 234
Docket No.19688 [1]
Prior historyJudgment for the Crown in the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal
RulingAppeal allowed
Holding
French language rights guaranteed by s 110 of The North-West Territories Act continued to apply in Saskatchewan
Court membership
Chief Justice: Brian Dickson
Puisne Justices: Jean Beetz, Willard Estey, William McIntyre, Julien Chouinard, Antonio Lamer, Bertha Wilson, Gerald Le Dain, Gérard La Forest
Reasons given
MajorityLa Forest J, joined by Dickson CJC, Beetz, Lamer, Wilson and Le Dain JJ
DissentEstey J, joined by McIntyre J
Chouinard J took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
The North-West Territories Act, RSC 1886, c 50, s 110
Saskatchewan Act, SC 1905, c 42, ss 14, 16

R v Mercure was a ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1988, dealing with language rights in the province of Saskatchewan.[2]

The appellant demanded the right to a statutory provision in Saskatchewan governing a speeding ticket be expressed in French as well as the right to have a trial conducted in French. English and French are both considered official languages in Canada.

Lower courts had denied him this right, so he sought appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. However, the appellant died before the Supreme Court could hear his appeal. The Court exercised its discretion to hear the appeal notwithstanding its mootness because the case not only raised an important legal issue but satisfied the other criteria for the hearing of a moot appeal, including the continued existence of a proper adversarial context.

The Supreme Court ruled that language rights enjoyed an almost constitutional status and could only be repealed by a 'clear legislative pronouncement'. The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan subsequently repealed official bilingualism.

References

  1. ↑ SCC Case Information - Docket 19688 Supreme Court of Canada
  2. ↑ R v Mercure, [1988] 1 SCR 234.
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