Devine v. Quebec (Attorney General)

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Devine v. Quebec (Attorney General)^[1], [1988] 2 S.C.R. 790 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on the constitutional protection of minority language rights.

Allan Singer was a Montreal printer who mostly served anglophone clientele. For over 30 years, his store front had a sign advertising his store that was written in English only. He was charged under the Charter of the French Language for having an English sign.

Singer and several others brought an action to strike down provisions of the French Language Charter that required commercial signs to be only in French.

In the case before the Quebec Superior Court, Singer argued that the French Charter was ultra vires of the authority of the provincial government, as well, that the provisions infringed upon his right to freedom of expression under section 3 of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. Lastly he argued that the provisions infringed upon his right against discrimination under section 10 of the Quebec Charter.

The issues before the Supreme Court were:

whether the Language Charter was valid provincial law
whether the provisions prohibiting English signs violated the right to freedom of expression under section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter
and if so, could it be saved under section 1 of the Canadian Charter.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court held that the Language Charter concerned a valid provincial matter but it violated Singer's freedom of expression under section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter as it prohibited the use of English.