In a family law proceeding concerning custody and access, the respondent mother moved to adjourn a fixed-date trial to allow for the appointment of the Office of the Children’s Lawyer or a parenting assessment, to obtain unsupervised access, and to set aside prior interim orders on the basis that her statutory right to a bilingual proceeding under the Courts of Justice Act had been breached.
The court declined to adjourn the trial, emphasizing the lengthy litigation history, the children’s need for finality, and the substantial court resources already arranged for a bilingual trial.
The court held that while parties have a substantive right to a bilingual proceeding, the evidence did not establish that prior interim orders should be vacated, particularly where the party had been informed of the procedure for requesting a bilingual hearing but failed to pursue it.
The court did, however, confirm that in Family Court proceedings documents may be filed in French notwithstanding the absence of Schedule 2 designation, subject to translation if requested.
