Blurb:

Since the introduction of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, provincial provisions on such issues as language rights can be challenged as far as the Canadian Supreme Court. The legal framework in terms of language policy and language planning at federal and provincial levels plays a crucial role in public policy and public debate, with much evidence of tensions resulting from conflicting provisions made at provincial and federal level. This article analyses the outcome of two Supreme Court decisions handed down on 31 March 2005, relating to the controversial issue of access to schooling in English in Quebec, following challenges to restrictions contained in Quebec’s Charte de la langue française (Charter of the French Language), the infamous Bill 101.