Several federal deputies came to demonstrate to defend the rights of Anglophones in Quebec on Sunday.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
But where are these members concerned about language rights when their government appoints a Governor General who does not speak French? Or a unilingual anglophone lieutenant-governor in New Brunswick, the only officially bilingual province?
They are absent subscribers, because French outside Quebec is an unofficial language, even when it is supposed to be official.
Latest example: the federal government announced Tuesday that it would appeal a judgment declaring the appointment of the lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick unconstitutional on the grounds of unilingualism.
Brenda Murphy, a woman with an otherwise distinguished record in advocating for the rights of women and sexual minorities, was appointed Lieutenant Governor by Justin Trudeau in 2019.
The Société de l’Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick filed a motion to have this appointment revoked.
To everyone’s surprise, Chief Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick (the equivalent of the Superior Court in Quebec), Tracey DeWare, agreed with the Acadians.
If the Constitution makes sense, said the judge in essence, bilingualism is required for the office of lieutenant-governor. Politically, the function is insignificant. But legally, it is a constitutional necessity, in particular to give effect to a law by affixing its seal.
However, the Charter of Rights states that “French and English are the official languages of New Brunswick; they have equal status and rights and privileges as to their use in the institutions of the Legislature and government of New Brunswick”.
In principle, the two linguistic communities “have equal status and equal rights and privileges”.
The Lieutenant Governor is a person, but she is also an institution.
“It is difficult to understand how one could conclude that the appointment of a unilingual lieutenant-governor would be compatible” with the goal pursued by the Charter, writes the chief justice.
“Unlike the elected members, who together form the government and the opposition, there is only one lieutenant-governor, who is the only head of state of the province. If French-speaking citizens are unable to interact with the Head of State in the same way as English-speaking citizens,” she adds, one wonders how this is compatible with the equality of languages.
The federal government argued that the language obligation did not apply to the person, and that its argument would be the same if the lieutenant-governor were unilingual French-speaking. The judge did not swallow this rhetorical snake: there has of course never been, and there will never be, a unilingual Francophone lieutenant-governor.
“Anglophone New Brunswickers might find it difficult to accept a Lieutenant Governor delivering a Speech from the Throne only in French or with a few limited passages in English,” wrote Justice DeWare, who is herself a bilingual Anglophone. . It would perhaps be disappointing if a unilingual French-speaking lieutenant-governor had difficulty talking with English-speaking citizens at community events or during ceremonies for awarding prizes or distinctions, such as the Order of New Brunswick. Yet these same realities are imposed on French-speaking New Brunswickers. »
Judge DeWare therefore believes that the Trudeau government has violated its constitutional obligations. But taking into account the separation of powers, it does not cancel the appointment. She leaves it up to the executive to determine the appropriate remedy, which is a way of saying: this is the last time you do this.
The judgment raises numerous legal and political questions… and criticism everywhere outside of Acadia.
Note that the same constitutional equality of languages exists for federal institutions. Following the logic of Judge DeWare, the appointment of Mary Simon last year is therefore just as unconstitutional, since she does not speak – or speaks very little – French.
Let us push the reasoning further. What about the Premier of New Brunswick? Blaine Higgs is unilingual Anglophone. He is not “appointed”, he is elected as a deputy. But the spirit of the Constitution imposes even more on him to be bilingual, he who communicates daily with the public. Can you imagine a unilingual francophone prime minister in Fredericton or Ottawa? Obviously not. But is this a political or constitutional obligation?
The judgment, which seems purely provincial, opens all sorts of legal doors.
Three federal Liberal MPs, including Acadians Serge Cormier and René Arsenault, denounced their government’s decision to appeal this judgment.
Official Languages Minister Ginette Petitpas-Taylor said it was only to test “technical” points of constitutional interpretation. The Trudeau government, she said, is “completely in agreement” with the principle of appointing a bilingual person in the future.
But this “complete agreement” was obtained after a hard fight.
Because it is one of the laws of political gravity in Canada. It is always easy to mobilize politicians against the excesses of the Quebec government to defend French. And so difficult to mobilize outside the communities concerned against the chronic, institutionalized neglect of the rights of Francophones in Canada.