The Quebec Superior Court has ruled that a lawsuit seeking to quash Governor General Mary Simon’s appointment can proceed and be heard substantively.
Justice Marie-Hélène Dubé denied the Attorney General of Canada’s motion to dismiss the case, handing the plaintiffs, two Quebec language rights groups, a second victory in the case.
The lawsuit, filed in Quebec Superior Court in 2022, argues that Simon, who became the King’s representative in Canada in 2021, cannot serve in the position because he does not speak French.
The plaintiffs claim they want Simon’s appointment set aside.
Simon, who was educated at federal day schools in Nunavik, Quebec, said she didn’t have the opportunity to learn French as a child. She vowed to make an effort to learn French and began taking lessons last December.
Simon is Canada’s first Indigenous Governor General and is fluent in English and Inuktitut.
The two groups that filed the lawsuit, Quebec’s Collective Law and Quebec’s Ministry of Justice, claim the federal government violated two articles of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms by appointing Simon to the prestigious position despite her lack of proficiency in French.
The lawsuit claims her appointment violates Articles 16 and 20 of the Charter, which guarantees equal status for French and English and the right to receive services from federal agencies in either official language.
This is the second time the federal government has asked for the case to be dismissed.
In 2023, the government sought to have the case dismissed, arguing that the case should be heard in federal court rather than Quebec Superior Court. This argument was rejected by Justice Catherine Pichet.
“Victory of the French Defense”
More recently, the Attorney General’s Office of Canada argued that there is no legal requirement that the Governor General speak both English and French and that the case does not merit being heard in court.
Judge Dube rejected the request, saying the full case should be heard before a ruling was made.
The attorney general also sought to challenge the legal status of the plaintiffs, specifically Quebec union secretary-general Étienne Alexis Boucher, Quebec’s attorney general and the union’s former president, Frédéric Bastien, who died in May 2023.
In his ruling, Judge Dube said the organisations would need to submit amended submissions to prove their relevance to the case.
“This is a constitutional victory for French and paves the way for the litigation to move forward,” Judge Boucher said in a media statement.
A similar case was heard in New Brunswick earlier this year, when the province’s Supreme Court ruled that the lieutenant governor The Constitution does not require people to be bilingual.
