Canadian Supreme Court upholds exclusivity of Montreal Convention in context of language rights
On 28 October 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a 5-2 decision dismissing an action brought by passengers and avowed francophones Michel and Lynda Thibodeau for Air Canada's failure to provide services in French as well as English on several international flights in violation of Canada's Official Languages Act (the "OLA"). The decision addressed a tension between Canadian domestic law, which provides remedies for language rights violations, and the Montreal Convention (to which Canada is a state party), which does not. Ultimately, the majority concluded, correctly in our opinion, that Canada's obligations under the Montreal Convention trumped the OLA with respect to international transportation governed by the Convention.
Canada's Official Languages Act
The OLA is a Canadian federal statute aimed at ensuring "respect for English and French as the official languages of Canada" and the "equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all federal institutions...." OLA § 2(a). The statute seeks to "support the development of English and French linguistic minority communities and generally advance the status and use of the English and French languages within Canadian society" and to "set out the powers, duties and functions of federal institutions with respect to the official languages of Canada." OLA §§ 2(b) and (c). The OLA fosters the recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian Society and establishes the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, who is empowered to conduct investigations, make recommendations and report. Under the statute, a person who has made a complaint to the Commissioner in relation to certain parts of the OLA may apply to Canadian Federal Court to "award such remedy as it considers appropriate and just under the circumstances." OLA § 77(4). Air Canada is subject to the OLA by virtue of the Air Canada Public Participation Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 35 (4th Supp._.), and the airline therefore must ensure, inter alia, that members of the public can obtain available services in either English or French "in Canada or elsewhere" where there is "significant demand" for services in that language. OLA § 22 (b).
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