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Sign language put on par with English, French

Ottawa must provide services to deaf

OLIVER MOORE
The Globe and Mail, Tuesday, August 22, 2006

All government services must be available in sign language free of charge, according to a court ruling hailed by the deaf community for giving their languages de facto official status alongside English and French.

Deaf Canadians have fought for years to have the same access to federal services as everyone else. Until now the 300,000-strong community has had to pay for sign-language interpreters, a policy it argued was discriminatory under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

This month Mr. Justice Richard Mosley of the Federal Court agreed, ruling that the government must pay for interpreters.

More at The Globe and Mail or CBC.ca

ronnie