(Ottawa) The Trudeau government suffers a setback before the courts: the process that led to the appointment of a unilingual lieutenant-governor in New Brunswick is ruled unconstitutional. Those who claim victory invite the Liberals to draw inspiration from it to amend its plan to modernize the Official Languages Act.
Updated yesterday at 4:42 p.m.
What there is to know
- The tribunal concludes that bilingualism is necessary for this position.
- The decision does not mean Brenda Murphy’s nomination is revoked.
- The Trudeau government is “thinking about the next steps”.
- A “spectacular advance”, reacts the SANB, applicant in this case.
- The SANB and Senator Claude Carignan hope the Liberals will modify C-13.
Under the provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms“the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick must be bilingual and able to carry out all the duties required of his role in French and in English”, ruled the Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick in a decision handed down Thursday.
The verdict does not overturn the Order in Council appointing Lieutenant Governor Brenda Murphy, as a declaratory judgment would “could invalidate innumerable statutes, appointments and decrees lawfully enacted” and thus plunge the province in a legislative and constitutional crisis, notes Chief Justice Tracey K. DeWare.
On the other hand, the decision “is sufficient to ensure that the government will take appropriate and prompt action to correct the situation”, she writes. “I leave it to the executive body of the government to determine the timing and extent of these measures,” adds the magistrate, who takes care to mention in her decision that it does not call into question the qualities and skills of Brenda Murphy.
Appointed by the Privy Council Office on September 4, 2019 on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the Lieutenant Governor does not speak French. She is committed to learning it. However, although she is “actively striving to improve her French language skills […]she is not bilingual,” noted Justice DeWare.
The Société de l’Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick (SANB) was the plaintiff in this case, which raises questions about another appointment of the Trudeau government: that of the Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon, who also does not speak French. , but who promised to get started. Its designation caused unease, and it led to the filing of 1,341 complaints with the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.
Towards amendments to C-13?
The federal reaction came from the office of the Minister of Justice, David Lametti. “We will take the time to review the decision and reflect on the next steps, but we remain determined to protect and promote the French language across the country and to promote linguistic duality,” said its press secretary, Chantalle Aubertin.
The president of the SANB, Alexandre Cédric Doucet, insists that the approach was never “against Mme Murphy personally”, but “against the process that led to his appointment”. He says he hopes that the federal government will not appeal the decision, and that it will instead serve as an inspiration to improve Bill C-13 on the modernization of the Official Languages Act.
Conservative Senator Claude Carignan, who tabled Bill S-229 in the Upper House last December aimed at adding to the list of targeted functions in the Language Skills Act the position of Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, extends the same invitation to the government of Justin Trudeau.
“I am even ready to abandon my bill if it is integrated into the Official Languages Act. And the reason is simple: if it is integrated into the Law, it is even more powerful, because the Law has a quasi-constitutional status”, explains in an interview the one who applauds this “excellent news for the recognition of equality Francophone and Anglophone communities in New Brunswick”.
The Atlantic province is the only one in the country to be officially bilingual.