Skip to main content

Case information

Conduct a refined search of the Supreme Court of Canada database to obtain details on the status of a matter before the Court.


30467

Mario Charlebois, et al. v. City of Saint John, et al.

(New Brunswick) (Civil) (By Leave)

Docket

Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.

List of proceedings
Date Proceeding Filed By
(if applicable)
2006-01-12 Appeal closed
2005-12-16 Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties
2005-12-16 Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties
2005-12-15 Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Ma Ba Bi LeB De F Abe Cha, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick, Number 166/02/CA, dated June 17, 2004, heard on October 20, 2005, is dismissed with costs, Bastarache, Binnie, LeBel and Deschanps JJ. dissenting.
Dismissed, with costs
2005-10-31 Transcript received, 103 pages
2005-10-21 Supplemental document, New Brunswick Regulation requested by the Court (sent to the judges Oct. 25/05) City of Saint John
2005-10-20 Judgment reserved OR rendered with reasons to follow
2005-10-20 Respondent's condensed book, Submitted in Court (14 copies) City of Saint John
2005-10-20 Acknowledgement and consent for video taping of proceedings, From all parties
2005-10-20 Hearing of the appeal, 2005-10-20, CJ Ma Ba Bi LeB De F Abe Cha
Judgment reserved
2005-10-18 Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, Christine Ruest from the Registrar re: confirming she can be robed for the appeal with the intervener, Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada
2005-10-03 Notice of appearance, Melanie C. Tompkins and Marie-France Major will be present at the hearing. City of Saint John
2005-09-14 Notice of appearance, Gaétan Migneault will be present at the hearing. Attorney General of New Brunswick
2005-09-13 Correspondence received from, F. Boileau re: enclosing revised p. 10 of their factum and the CD-ROM (sent to the judges Sept. 15/05) Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada
2005-08-24 Order by, Bi, À LA SUITE DE L'ORDONNANCE rendue par le juge Binnie le 27 juin 2005, accordant l'autorisation d'intervenir du Procureur général du Canada, du Procureur général du Nouveau-Brunswick, de l'Union des municipalités du Nouveau-Brunswick, de la Commissaire aux langues officielles du Canada et de la Fédération des associations de juristes d'expression française de common law Inc.;
IL EST PAR LA PRÉSENTE ORDONNÉ que ces intervenants pourront présenter chacun une plaidoirie orale d'au plus quinze (15) minutes lors de l'audition de l'appel.
Granted
2005-08-23 Book of authorities, Completed on: 2005-08-23 Fédération des associations de juristes d'expression française de Common Law Inc.
2005-08-23 Intervener's factum, CD rec'd August 24, 2005 - Amended CD rec'd Oct. 6/05, Completed on: 2005-08-23 Fédération des associations de juristes d'expression française de Common Law Inc.
2005-08-23 Book of authorities, Completed on: 2005-08-23 Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada
2005-08-23 Intervener's factum, CD missing - rec'd Sept. 13/05, Completed on: 2005-09-13 Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada
2005-08-22 Notice of appearance, Mario Charlebois will be present at the hearing. Mario Charlebois
2005-08-22 Intervener's factum, CD missing - Rec'd Sept. 8, 2005, Completed on: 2005-09-08 Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick
2005-08-22 Book of authorities, Completed on: 2005-08-22 Attorney General of Canada
2005-08-22 Intervener's factum, Submitted in both languages (CD missing - Rec'd August 31, 2005), Completed on: 2005-08-31 Attorney General of Canada
2005-08-18 Book of authorities, Completed on: 2005-08-18 Attorney General of New Brunswick
2005-08-18 Intervener's factum, CD rec'd Aug. 26/05 - Revised format of CD Sept. 9/05, Completed on: 2005-08-18 Attorney General of New Brunswick
2005-08-15 Notice of hearing sent to parties
2005-08-11 Appeal hearing scheduled, 2005-10-20, Previously Nov. 8, Oct. 11/05
Judgment reserved
2005-06-29 Correspondence received from, M.-F. Major re: factums and confirming French version is the official version City of Saint John
2005-06-29 Respondent's book of authorities, Completed on: 2005-06-29 City of Saint John
2005-06-29 Respondent's factum, (French and English factums filed - French is the official version) (to Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick's factum) CD rec'd July 15/05, Completed on: 2005-06-29 City of Saint John
2005-06-29 Appeal perfected for hearing
2005-06-27 Order on motion for leave to intervene
2005-06-27 Decision on the motion for leave to intervene, Bi, La demande d'autorisation d'intervenir présentée par le Procureur général du Canada est accordée; le requérant aura le droit de signifier et déposer un mémoire de 20 pages.
La demande d'autorisation d'intervenir présentée par le Procureur général du Nouveau-Brunswick est accordée; le requérant aura le droit de signifier et déposer un mémoire de 20 pages.
La demande d'autorisation d'intervenir présentée par l'Union des municipalités du Nouveau-Brunswick est accordée; la requérante aura le droit de signifier et déposer un mémoire de 20 pages.
La demande d'autorisation d'intervenir présentée par la Commissaire aux langues officielles du Canada est accordée; la requérante aura le droit de signifier et déposer un mémoire de 20 pages.
La demande d'autorisation d'intervenir présentée par la Fédération des associations de juristes d'expression française de common law Inc. est accordée; la requérante aura le droit de signifier et déposer un mémoire de 20 pages.
Les demandes visant à présenter une plaidoirie seront examinées après la réception et l'examen de l'argumentation écrite des parties et des intervenants.
Les intervenants n'auront pas le droit de produire d'autres éléments de preuve ni d'ajouter quoi que ce soit aux dossiers des parties.
Conformément au par. 59(1)(a) des Règles de la Cour suprême du Canada, les intervenants paieront aux appelants et à l'intimée tous débours supplémentaires résultant de leur intervention.
Granted
2005-06-27 Submission of motion for leave to intervene, Bi
2005-06-17 Reply to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from Chantal Thibodeau dated June 17/05, Completed on: 2005-06-17 Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick
2005-06-16 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from Sébastien Lorquet dated June 16/05 (by A.G. Canada), Completed on: 2005-06-16 Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick
2005-06-16 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from Sébastien Lorquet dated June 16/05 (by Féd. des ass. des juristes), Completed on: 2005-06-16 Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick
2005-06-16 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from Sébastien Lorquet dated June 16/05 (by Commissioner of Official Languages), Completed on: 2005-06-17 Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick
2005-06-13 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), Mélanie C. Tompkins dated June 13/05 (by FAJEF), Completed on: 2005-06-13 City of Saint John
2005-06-13 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), Mélanie C. Tompkins dated June 13/05 (by Comm. of Off. Languages), Completed on: 2005-06-13 City of Saint John
2005-06-13 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from Mélanie C. Tompkins dated June 13/05 (by the A.G. of Canada), Completed on: 2005-06-13 City of Saint John
2005-06-10 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from Sébastien Lorquet dated June 10/05 (by Union des municipalités du N-B), Completed on: 2005-06-10 Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick
2005-06-03 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from Sébastien Lorquet dated June 3/05 (by A.G. N.B.), Completed on: 2005-06-03 Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick
2005-06-02 Motion for leave to intervene, (bookform), Completed on: 2005-06-02 Fédération des associations de juristes d'expression française de Common Law Inc.
2005-06-01 Motion for leave to intervene, Completed on: 2005-06-01 Attorney General of Canada
2005-06-01 Motion for leave to intervene, Completed on: 2005-06-03 Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada
2005-05-31 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from M. C. Tompkins (by Union of Mun. of N.B.), Completed on: 2005-05-31 City of Saint John
2005-05-31 Motion for leave to intervene, (book form), Completed on: 2005-06-02 Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick
2005-05-31 Correspondence received from, Mélanie C. Tompkins dated May 31/05 re: moving date of hearing City of Saint John
2005-05-30 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from Mélanie C. Tompkins dated May 26/05 (by A.G. N.B.), Completed on: 2005-05-30 City of Saint John
2005-05-25 Motion for leave to intervene, (bookform), Completed on: 2005-06-03 Attorney General of New Brunswick
2005-05-04 Appellant's record, (24 copies of vol. I and 13 copies of vol. II and III) 2nd application, Completed on: 2005-05-04 Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick
2005-05-04 Appellant's book of authorities, (Vol. I to V - 1 extra copy filed - 2nd application), Completed on: 2005-05-04 Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick
2005-05-04 Appellant's factum, (2nd application) CD-ROM rec'd Oct. 6/05, Completed on: 2005-05-04 Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick
2005-04-06 Respondent's record, Completed on: 2005-04-06 City of Saint John
2005-04-06 Respondent's book of authorities, Completed on: 2005-04-06 City of Saint John
2005-04-06 Respondent's factum, CD rec'd July 15/05, Completed on: 2005-04-06 City of Saint John
2005-04-05 Appeal perfected for hearing
2005-02-08 Notice of appeal, Completed on: 2005-02-08 Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick
2005-02-08 Appellant's book of authorities, Completed on: 2005-02-14 Mario Charlebois
2005-02-08 Appellant's record, Vol. I & II, Completed on: 2005-02-14 Mario Charlebois
2005-02-08 Appellant's factum, CD-ROM rec'd Sept. 7/05, Completed on: 2005-02-14 Mario Charlebois
2005-02-04 Notice of appeal, Completed on: 2005-02-04 Mario Charlebois
2005-02-03 Correspondence received from, R. Gaudreau dated Jan. 31/05 re: will act as agent for the Appellant Mario Charlebois
2005-01-31 Correspondence received from, Mr. Charlebois dated Jan. 28/05 re: style of cause Mario Charlebois
2005-01-31 Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Leave granted)
2005-01-24 Correspondence received from, Sébastien Lorquet (Heenan Blaikie) dated Jan. 24/05 re: corrections to his address and to Mr. Doucet's address Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick
2005-01-21 Judgment on leave sent to the parties
2005-01-20 Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The applications for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick, Number 166/02/CA, dated June 17, 2004, are granted without costs.
Granted, without costs
2005-01-20 Decision on motion to add or substitute parties, The applicant Association's motion to be added as a party is granted.
Granted
2004-12-06 All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, CJ Bi Cha
2004-12-06 Submission of motion to add or substitute parties, CJ Bi Cha
2004-10-15 Reply to motion to add or substitute parties, (Letter Form), from M. Doucet dated Oct. 15, 2004, Completed on: 2004-10-15 Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick
2004-09-24 Response to motion to add or substitute parties, (Letter Form), from Mélanie C. Tompkins dated 09/22/04, Completed on: 2004-09-24 City of Saint John
2004-09-23 Response to motion to add or substitute parties, affidavit of Mario Charlebois, Completed on: 2004-09-23 Mario Charlebois
2004-09-15 Motion to add or substitute parties, in the SECOND APPLICATION, Completed on: 2004-09-15 Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick
2004-09-15 Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2004-09-15 City of Saint John
2004-08-31 Letter acknowledging receipt of an incomplete application for leave to appeal
2004-08-31 Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal
2004-08-30 Correspondence received from, Mr. Charlebois dated Aug. 27/04 re: The Association is not a partie to this Appeal Mario Charlebois
2004-08-30 Application for leave to appeal, 2nd Application (Service rec'd Sept. 2 and 7/04), Completed on: 2004-09-02 Mario Charlebois
2004-08-17 Application for leave to appeal, 1st Application (Form 25 B and Proof of Service rec'd Aug. 26/04), Completed on: 2004-08-17 Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick

Parties

Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.

Main parties

Main parties - Appellants
Name Role Status
Charlebois, Mario Appellant Active

v.

Main parties - Respondents
Name Role Status
City of Saint John Respondent Active

And Between

Sub parties (1) - Appellants
Name Role Status
Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick Appellant Active

v.

Sub parties (1) - Respondents
Name Role Status
City of Saint John Respondent Active

Other parties

Other parties
Name Role Status
Attorney General of New Brunswick Intervener Active
Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick Intervener Active
Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada Intervener Active
Attorney General of Canada Intervener Active
Fédération des associations de juristes d'expression française de Common Law Inc. Intervener Active

Counsel

Party: Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick

Counsel
Names
Michel Doucet
Mark C. Power
Contact information
Université de Moncton
Faculté de droit
Pavillon A.-J.-CORMIER
Moncton, New Brunswick
E1A 3E9
Telephone: (506) 863-2136
FAX: (506) 858-4534
Email: doudroit@nbnet.nb.ca
Agent
Name
Sébastien Lorquet
Contact information
Heenan Blaikie
55, rue Metcalfe
Bureau 300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6L5
Telephone: (613) 236-1327
FAX: (866) 297-9748
Email: slorquet@heenan.ca

Party: Charlebois, Mario

Agent
Name
Richard Gaudreau
Contact information
Bergeron, Gaudreau, Laporte
167, rue Notre Dame de l'Île
Gatineau, Quebec
J8X 3T3
Telephone: (819) 770-7928
FAX: (819) 770-1424
Email: bergeron.gaudreau@qc.aira.com

Party: City of Saint John

Counsel
Names
Mélanie C. Tompkins
John L. Nugent
Contact information
15, Place Market, 8è étage
Case postale 1971
Saint John, New Brunswick
E2L 4L1
Telephone: (506) 658-2860
FAX: (506) 649-7939
Email: melanie.tompkins@saintjohn.ca
Agent
Name
Marie-France Major
Contact information
Lang Michener
300 - 50 O'Connor Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6L2
Telephone: (613) 232-7171
FAX: (613) 231-3191
Email: mmajor@langmichener.ca

Party: Attorney General of New Brunswick

Counsel
Names
Gaétan Migneault
Chantal Cormer
Contact information
Attorney General of New Brunswick
Centennial Building, Room 447
P.O. Box 6000
Fredericton, New Brunswick
E3B 5H1
Telephone: (506) 453-2222
FAX: (506) 453-3275
Email: gaetan.migneault@gnb.ca
Agent
Name
Brian A. Crane, Q.C.
Contact information
Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP
2600 - 160 Elgin St
Box 466 Station D
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 233-1781
FAX: (613) 563-9869
Email: brian.crane@gowlingwlg.com

Party: Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick

Counsel
Name
Chantal A. Thibodeau
Contact information
Barry, Spalding
85, rue Charlotte
Saint John, New Brunswick
E2L 4R5
Telephone: (506) 633-4226
FAX: (506) 633-4206
Email: cat@barryspalding.com
Agent
Name
Marie-France Major
Contact information
Lang Michener
300 - 50 O'Connor Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6L2
Telephone: (613) 232-7171
FAX: (613) 231-3191
Email: mmajor@langmichener.ca

Party: Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada

Counsel
Names
François Boileau
Johane Tremblay
Christine Ruest
Contact information
Commissariat aux langues officielles du Canada
344, rue Slater
3e étage
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0T8
Telephone: (613) 995-0547
FAX: (613) 996-9671
Email: francois.boileau@ocol-clo.gc.ca

Party: Attorney General of Canada

Counsel
Name
Alain Préfontaine
Contact information
Attorney General of Canada
Department of Justice
2246 - 284, rue Wellington
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H8
Telephone: (613) 946-3815
FAX: (613) 954-1920
Email: Alain.Prefontaine@justice.x400.gc.ca
Agent
Name
Christopher M. Rupar
Contact information
Attorney General of Canada
Bank of Canada Building - East Tower
234 Wellington Street, Room 1212
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H8
Telephone: (613) 941-2351
FAX: (613) 954-1920
Email: christopher.rupar@justice.gc.ca

Party: Fédération des associations de juristes d'expression française de Common Law Inc.

Counsel
Name
Antoine F. Hacault
Contact information
Thompson Dorfman Sweatman
2200 - 201 Portage Ave
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3B 3L3
Telephone: (204) 934-2513
FAX: (204) 934-0530
Email: afh@tdslaw.com
Agent
Name
Sébastien Lorquet
Contact information
Heenan Blaikie
55, rue Metcalfe
Bureau 300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6L5
Telephone: (613) 236-1327
FAX: (866) 297-9748
Email: slorquet@heenan.ca

Summary

Keywords

None.

Summary

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

The Appellant Mario Charlebois instituted civil proceedings, by way of application, against the Respondent City seeking an order directing it to offer its services in both official languages.

At the hearing of the application, the City and the Attorney General of New Brunswick moved to strike out the Appellant’s application. The City’s notice of motion was drafted in English and its counsel used the English language in his pleadings. The Attorney General’s notice of motion and brief were drafted in French, but there were excerpts from judicial decisions and documentary evidence in English. At the hearing of these two notices of motion, the Appellant relied on s. 22 of the Official Languages Act to object to the use of English in the parties’ proceedings.

The Court of Queen’s Bench held that the appellant’s objections were without merit. The New Brunswick Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment

Lower court rulings

December 11, 2002
Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick

2002 NBQB 382, S/M/72/02

Requête du demandeur Charlebois visant à obtenir une ordonnance de services dans les deux langues officielles, rejetée

June 17, 2004
Court of Appeal of New Brunswick

166/02/CA

Appel du demandeur Charlebois rejeté

Filed documents

The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.

Downloadable PDFs

Not available

The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.

Downloadable PDFs

Not available

The condensed books of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here upon receipt of the electronic version, 2 days prior to the scheduled appeal hearing. You may also obtain copies of condensed books by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

If you have questions about a condensed book or want permission to use a condensed book, please contact the author of the condensed book directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each condensed book.

Downloadable PDFs

Not available

Webcasts

Not available.

Date modified: 2025-05-13