Bilingual Defence

A Toronto criminal lawyer successfully argued this defence while articling. He was tasked with defending his lawyer boss who had made an illegal left turn.^[1] The acquittal was soon forgotten by everyone. But it remains one of the most effective arguments for fighting almost all traffic sign charges like no left or right turn, signs changing speed, community safety zones, etc.

The Background

Look at your ticket, is it in English and French? The Government of Ontario is committed to offering bilingual services. That means anyone can deal with the Ontario government in either English or French (whether you speak either or neither language does not matter). This language requirement is regulated by the French Language Services Act which designates that the central provincial government and 25 regions in Ontario must provide bilingual provincial services. It also means that all Ontario laws have to comply with the bilingual provisions of the Act.^[2]

Where It Applies

Here is a table of affected cities. You will be amazed. It includes Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga, Hamilton, Windsor, London, most major cities!

What It Affects

Pretty much every traffic sign under the Highway Traffic Act and any provincial law that uses a sign to regulate behaviour. For example, Regulation 615 under the Highway Traffic Act shows what the unilingual and bilingual signs should look like.

The Argument

Provincial charges like speeding are covered by provincial laws like the Highway Traffic Act. And that means all signs erected under that law have to be bilingual in those 25 regions designated by the French Language Services Act. If they are not, then you are not bound to comply with that sign.

Example 1: No Right Turn

The best way to explain it is to use examples. The sign to the right is bilingual. Actually it only uses a symbol so the absence of language technically makes it bilingual.

This sign on the left is in English only which is fine for any area of the province that is not designated by the French Language Services Act. Notice how this is the sign you will see in Toronto. And yes, it is not valid in Toronto because the sign is supposed to be bilingual!

This sign on the right is bilingual. This is the sign that must be used in areas of the province that are designated bilingual. And most areas don't have them. This means that the non-bilingual signs they do use are unenforceable. Feels like winning a jackpot, doesn't it?

Warning: don't forget, this whole argument only applies to those 25 designated areas. Another warning: this argument is to be used in court to defend yourself against a charge. It doesn't mean you can drive around with impunity. You will be pulled over and you will get a ticket. You should obey all traffic signs.

Example 2: Speed limit

Speeding is covered under the Highway Traffic Act. Remember that the default speed limits are set by regulation, for example 80km/h for highways and 50km/h for municipal roads. If you argue the sign is invalid, make sure the default speed or the speed in the area you just left is higher than the speed you were going, otherwise you are still guilty of speeding.

Municipalities can change these defaults under the Highway Traffic Act by passing a by-law regulating speed. So the speed on a road could be changed to 60km/h or 40km/h. And typically they have the word "begins" at the bottom of the sign to indicate a change in the speed limit. It's that word that invalidates the sign. But if there is no English word, then the sign is valid.

The sign on the right is bilingual. The sign on the left is not. English and French do share similar words like "maximum" so the sign on the right is good anywhere in the province. But the sign on the left contains the word "Begins" which makes it English. In those 25 designated areas the sign is required to be bilingual and must contain the French equivalent "Debut".

How To Make The Argument

First point to section 128(11) of the Highway Traffic Act which states no by-law can become effective unless it is in accordance with the Act. Next point to section 195(1) which states that any existing municipal by-law shall be deemed repealed if it can be shown to be inconsistent with the Highway Traffic Act. This sets up your next argument that the existing by-law is inconsistent with the Act.

Next, point to section 5 of the French Language Services Act. This requires communication to be bilingual in the 25 regions listed in the Schedule at the bottom. You then state your town or city is one of those regions. You then point to Regulation 615 under the Highway Traffic Act which gives examples of the type of bilingual signage that must be displayed. You then state the obvious which is that the sign regulating what you did was not bilingual and therefore not in compliance with the Act and Regulations and is therefore not in force.

If the justice has difficulty understanding this argument, you can pull out a copy of the appeal case R. v. Myers as proof of your argument.

Counter Arguments

The City of Toronto unsuccessfully argued that they did not have to have bilingual signs. Their argument was based on a misunderstanding of the French Language Services Act. This misunderstanding persists today so it's important you know it in case, by some miracle, the prosecutor tries to argue against you.

There are two important sections of the French Language Services Act. First, section 5 states that anyone can communicate and receive communication in either English or French for provincial services in those 25 regions. This is the section that requires bilingual road signs.

Second, section 14 states that any municipality can voluntarily commit to also providing services in both languages, although no city ever has. The City of Toronto argued that they did not voluntarily commit to offering services in both official languages. Therefore they don't have to put up bilingual road signs. They then pointed to Section 52 of Regulation 615 of the Highway Traffic Act which states the municipality is not required to comply with the sign requirements unless they have passed a by-law under section 14 of the French Language Services Act.

But the argument only applies to city services and municipal signs like no parking, standing or stopping. Your charge is a provincial charge. It affects your provincial driving record and you could get provincial demerit points. That's why the City of Toronto's argument did not work. Section 5 applies to provincial offences and by-laws created under provincial statues. Section 14 is about municipal services and parking signs.

1. See Court decision calls into question thousands of Toronto traffic tickets, CBC News, October 20, 2004. Also, Nicholas Kohler, "Lawyer beats traffic ticket because sign not bilingual", National Post, October 20, 2004.

2. See Legislation Act, section 21.