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GOVERNMENT OF CANADA PROVIDES FUNDING TO SUPPORT USE OF BOTH OFFICIAL LANGUAGES IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM
OTTAWA, November 30, 2011 – The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced $128,500 in funding to the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law to strengthen and promote the use of both official languages in Canada’s justice system.
"Law schools play an active role in training law students in the use of both official languages in the practice of the law,"
said Minister Nicholson. "This funding from the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund will help ensure that law students are provided with a French curriculum, allowing them the option to practise in French."
With this funding, the Faculty of Law of the University of Manitoba will provide a program containing mandatory and optional courses in French for law students interested in mastering French legal terminology. The program will also help law students develop legal knowledge in French and the skill to practice law in French.
In 2009, the Canada-Wide Analysis of Official Language Training Needs in the Area of Justice revealed legal training was an area deserving particular attention. While a majority of lawyers in Canada receive their common law training in English and their civil law training in French, a few of the country’s lawyers can receive their training in the French-language common law program and the English-language civil law program. This funding will provide more opportunities for students to take common law courses in French.
The Department of Justice’s $41-million Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund helps build official languages capacity across Canada. The Fund is an integral part of the Government’s Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality, 2008-2013: Acting for the Future.
More information about the fund can be found at http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/pb-dgp/prog/olsf-fajlo.html.
Backgrounder: Government of Canada Support for Linguistic Duality
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