It can’t. Canada is a federation. As a result, law-making powers are divided between the federal and provincial/territorial governments. The basic rules that dictate which level of government can make laws in a particular sector are set out in sections 91 (federal) and 92 (provincial) of the Constitution Act, 1867 (“CA 1867”, formerly known as the British North America Act or “BNA Act”). Under the CA 1867, the word “language” itself does not appear in any of the lists in either s.91 or s.92. Instead, the authority to make laws about language is tied to each particular non-language subject matter. As a result, there is no single and complete power to make laws that are only about language, and powers over language are divided between federal and the provincial/territorial governments. Furthermore, the federal government has transferred some of its powers to the territorial governments within Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Yukon. The result is a set of federal language laws, and a set of language laws (or no language law) for each province/territory. Because of the variety of law makers, the result is a mix of laws, many of which continue to be examined, debated and challenged in Canadian courts. Last Reviewed: May 2011