New Brunswick’s official languages commissioner criticized the Higgs government on Monday for failing to “make real progress” toward equality between the two official language communities through a review of the Official Languages Act.
Shirley MacLaine described the process surrounding the law’s review and resulting amendments last summer as a “missed opportunity.”
She made the comments while presenting her annual report for the 2022-23 fiscal year, which outlines 160 complaints her office received and 109 requests for information.
Although the amendments to the law were adopted in June 2023 and did not occur during the period covered by her report, McLean said she could not deliver this year’s message without referring to them.
“New Brunswick has missed a clear opportunity to continue progress toward equality between our two official languages by adopting amendments that would strengthen these rights,” she said.
The timing is “crucial” given the “worrying” decline.
MacLean said the progress was particularly crucial at this time, pointing to “concerning trends” in the 2021 Census, which showed the use of French as a first official language gradually declining in New Brunswick — the only officially bilingual province in Canada.
The proportion of people in the province who speak mostly French at home fell to 26.4 per cent in 2021, from 28 per cent in 2016, according to Statistics Canada data.
“The Liberal and Progressive Conservative governments since 1969 have created and strengthened official languages legislation to ensure equality between our two official language communities,” McLean said. “Their actions were nonpartisan and reflect the work that government is supposed to do, especially here in New Brunswick, where our Constitution imposes a duty on our government to preserve and promote these rights.”
Shirley MacLaine says health care sector complaints come with a myriad of issues.
As an independent legislative official, McLean said it is not her role to take a position on political matters. But its role is “to make sure the government is held accountable for doing the work it was legislated to do.”
“I would be failing in my role if I did not mention the government’s response to the hundreds of submissions and submissions to the commissioners [Judge Yvette Finn and former deputy minister John McLaughlin] “He was superficial by nature,” she said.
“Many groups and individuals, including myself, made numerous recommendations and suggestions to Commissioners Finn and McLaughlin who were commissioned to prepare a report containing recommendations for the Government. Other than the adoption of the Official Languages Secretariat, the only elements that were retained were housekeeping in nature.”
Meanwhile, Canada’s Official Languages Act has seen “significant improvements” following a similar review by the federal government, MacLean noted.
The office of Prime Minister Blaine Higgs could not immediately be reached for comment.
Most troubling health care complaints
Between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, McLean’s office received 160 complaints.
Of these, 97 complaints were upheld, with 87 claiming lack of service in French and 10 claiming lack of service in English.
McLean said she finds health care-related issues to be the most troubling because patients are in a vulnerable position.
It highlighted one investigation where seven patients at various Horizon and Vitality Health Centers between June 2020 and September 2021 were unable to receive forms issued under the Mental Health Act in the official language of their choice.
These forms lead to a process where a hospitalized patient must appear before a mental health court, which determines whether the patient will remain in a psychiatric unit for treatment for up to 30 days without their consent.
She said it is important for patients to understand the content of these forms, noting that in most, if not all, of these cases, they do not have legal counsel.
She added that the 109 requests for information received by her office represented an increase of about 40 requests compared to the previous year.
The Official Languages Commissioner has recently criticized the Higgs government for what she perceives as a “missed opportunity” in addressing official language issues in the province. In a scathing statement, the Commissioner expressed disappointment with the government’s lack of action and its failure to adequately address the concerns of the linguistic minority communities. This rebuke comes as a blow to the Higgs government, as it faces mounting pressure to prioritize and protect the rights of Francophones and Anglophones in New Brunswick. The Commissioner’s critique underscores the ongoing tension and controversy surrounding language rights in the province, and highlights the need for meaningful and inclusive policies to address these longstanding issues.