OLD - Asking to have your court matter in French

Information about this tool

This tool asks you a series of questions and creates a letter you can give the court to ask for bilingual proceedings.

Bilingual proceedings

If you live in Ontario and speak French, you have the right for any family, civil, or provincial offence proceeding with a judge to be in French. And in certain parts of the province, you have the right to have a French jury trial.

The law does not use the words “French proceeding” or “French trial”. Instead, these are called “bilingual proceedings”.

A proceeding is anything you do with the court to move your matter forward, like a case conference, motion, or trial.

There are deadlines for asking that your proceedings be in French. Make sure to check what they are for your type of case.

Note: CLEO does not store your personal information.

What you need to get started

To use this tool, you need:

your court or claim file number
the name of the court, for example, Ontario Court of Justice
the type of the proceeding, for example, civil, family, or small claims
the title of the proceeding, for example, Tremblay v. Roy
list of the proceedings that you want to be bilingual
your name, address, and phone number

Where you can get a bilingual jury trial

In Ontario, bilingual jury trials are available in only the following areas:

the counties of Essex, Middlesex, Prescott and Russell, Renfrew, Simcoe and Stormont, and Dundas and Glengarry
the County of Welland as it existed on December 31, 1969
the territorial districts of Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Nipissing, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and Timiskaming
the Municipality of Chatham Kent
the City of Hamilton, Ottawa, Greater Sudbury, or Toronto
the Regional Municipality of Peel

If you live in another part of the province, you can ask for other matters in your case to be in French. But not a jury trial.

Your information

Fields marked with an asterisk * must be completed.

My name *

First

Last

My address *

Address line 1

Address line 2

Town/city

Province

Postal code

My phone number

Date you'll sign your letter *

My email (where this letter will be sent) *

Email

Confirm Email

Information about your court matter

Select the court you’re dealing with *

Select the type of proceeding *

Enter your court file or claim number (see the top right-hand corner of your court forms) *

Enter the title of the proceedings (see the top of your court forms, for example, Tremblay v. Roy) *

Select the proceedings that you want to be bilingual (for example, a preliminary inquiry, judicial pretrial, or trial) *

Where you can ask for a bilingual jury trial

Bilingual jury trials are available in only the following areas:

the counties of Essex, Middlesex, Prescott and Russell, Renfrew, Simcoe and Stormont, and Dundas and Glengarry
the County of Welland as it existed on December 31, 1969
the territorial districts of Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Nipissing, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and Timiskaming
the Municipality of Chatham Kent
the City of Hamilton, Ottawa, Greater Sudbury, or Toronto
the Regional Municipality of Peel

Get your letter

To review the information you entered, click "Previous" at the bottom of the page.

Before clicking "Submit" to get your email, read what's below.

Steps to take when you get the email with your letter

To create the letter that you'll send to the court:

copy the text into another program, like MS Word
review the content and make any changes

You must sign the letter, either on paper or by using an e-signature.

Check with the court listed in your court documents to see how you can deliver the letter. You may be able to send it to the court in the mail or by email, or take it to the court in person.

You must also serve the letter to all parties in your case. Read about the rules for serving that apply to the court you’re in.

Keep a copy for yourself.

OLD – Asking to have your court matter in French