AG (Quebec) v Blaikie

Blaikie struck down provisions of Quebec's Bill 101 (Charter of the French Language) requiring exclusive French in legislation and judicial proceedings. Section 133 of the Constitution Act 1867 entrenches both English and French in the Quebec legislature and courts.

Quebec's Bill 101 (1977) made French the exclusive language of provincial legislation, regulations, and judicial proceedings. Blaikie and others challenged.

Does s.133 require bilingual provincial legislation and judicial proceedings in Quebec?

Yes. Provisions struck.

Section 133 of the Constitution Act 1867 entrenches the use of both English and French in the Quebec legislature, in the Records and Journals of the legislature, and in pleadings and processes in Quebec courts. The provincial legislature cannot abrogate this entrenchment by ordinary statute.

The Court read s.133 in light of its constitutional status as part of Confederation. Statutory unilingualism would gut the constitutional entrenchment. Bill 101 had to be amended.

Foundational language-rights case. Together with the Manitoba Language Reference (1985), defines the constitutional architecture of legislative bilingualism.

AG (Quebec) v Blaikie, [1979] 2 SCR 1016, 1979 CanLII 21 (SCC).

Laskin CJ, Martland J, Ritchie J, Pigeon J, Dickson J, Beetz J, Estey J, Pratte J, McIntyre J