Section 6 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Along with the language rights in the "Charter" (sections 16-23), section 6 was meant to protect Canadian unity. French Canadians, who have been at the centre of unity debates, are able to travel throughout all Canada and receive government and educational services in their own language. Hence, they are not confined to Quebec (the only province where they form the majority and where most of their population is based), which would polarize the country along regional lines. According to the Supreme Court in "Canadian Egg Marketing Agency v. Richardson" (1998), section 6 is also "rooted in a concern with human
Section 16 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms itself to be officially bilingual, New Brunswick is the only province to have its bilingualism guaranteed by section 16. When Manitoba's laws declaring English to be the only official language of the province were found to be invalid in "Re Manitoba Language Rights" (1985), this was due to its contradictions with the "Manitoba Act". Subsection 16(3) provides that a Parliament or provincial government may strive for progress in official bilingualism. This reflects a 1975 court decision, "Jones v. Attorney General of New Brunswick", in which it was found governments may do this. Thus, the Supreme Court in "Société des Acadiens"