Language-rights activist loses appeal over Parliament Hill construction signs

Michel Thibodeau's three-year legal fight over English-only construction signs on Parliament Hill has ended in dismissal, even though the court acknowledged his language rights were violated.

The Federal Court of Appeal ruled Tuesday that Thibodeau, a language-rights activist, should not receive the $19,500 in damages he sought — $1,500 for each of 13 complaints he filed to the official languages commissioner in 2019. The signs in question, posted by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), included yellow caution warnings, worker-held "slow" and "stop" signals, and a "danger due to work overhead" notice — all without French equivalents.

Justice Vanessa Rochester wrote for the three-judge panel that "in the very specific circumstances of this case, the remedies sought by Mr. Thibodeau should not be granted." She noted his actions were inconsistent with a settlement he reached with PSPC in 2018 over a similar matter, when the agency issued a formal apology. The official languages commissioner had concluded in July 2021 that Thibodeau's complaints were well-founded and that PSPC had breached the Official Languages Act.

PSPC said at the time that monitoring all signage was difficult given the size of the work site, though it had agreements with contractors requiring bilingual signs. A Federal Court judge last year had already determined that a damage award would be "inappropriate or unjust."

Rochester found the 13 complaints were "almost identical to the complaints that were the subject of his previous application" and that the context of how Thibodeau discovered the breaches weighed against granting the remedies he sought. It remains unclear whether Thibodeau plans to seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.