The appellant brought an application in French against the respondent municipality.
The municipality presented its pleadings in English.
The appellant objected, arguing that section 22 of the Official Languages Act required the municipality, as an 'institution', to adopt the official language chosen by the other party in civil proceedings.
The Supreme Court of Canada held that the definition of 'institution' in the Act does not include municipalities, and therefore the municipality was not obliged to use the appellant's chosen language.
The Court also held that the obligation under section 22 does not extend to translating evidence or case law.
