N.B. language law reform needed, groups say

The next New Brunswick government must consult the public on reforms to the Official Languages Act after the Sept. 27 election, according to a group of legal and Acadian groups.

The Official Languages Act must be reviewed in 2012, 10 years after it was updated, which falls in the middle of the next government's mandate.

'Unfortunately, the previous acts were adopted without any debate, without any input from the community to see where we should be going, what it means, how important it is.' — Michel Doucet, University of Moncton

Michel Doucet, the executive director of the International Observatory on Linguistic Rights at the University of Moncton, said most people don't really know what is in the language law and what it covers.

Three organizations representing legal and Acadian groups in the province will hold a two-day symposium this fall to look at the province's Official Languages Act. The meeting will lay the groundwork for possible changes to the language law.

Doucet said the symposium would be a great opportunity not only to discuss the act, but to learn more about it.

The language law expert said the information gathered from this forum will be forwarded to the incoming government in advance of the review of the act. 

"I believe that in New Brunswick, we need a debate to better inform the citizens of this province on what it means to have an officially bilingual province and what it means to have an Official Languages Act and what should be included and why," Doucet said.

New Brunswick is Canada's only officially bilingual province.

According to Statistics Canada, 463,000 New Brunswick residents say their mother tongue is English only and 232,000 indicated French was their mother tongue. More than 240,000 New Brunswick residents said they had knowledge of both official languages.

The Acadian Society of New Brunswick and a francophone jurists association are joining Doucet in organizing the symposium which will take place Nov. 19 and 20 in Moncton, and is open to the public.

Debate needed

The language law expert said the law, as it's currently written, is ambiguous and in need of some revision.

Doucet said it's important to let this fall's incoming government know what changes need to be made, if any, to the act in advance of its review.

"Unfortunately, the previous acts were adopted without any debate, without any input from the community to see where we should be going, what it means, how important it is," Doucet said.

The former Bernard Lord government revamped the Official Languages Act in 2002, which was the first time it was reformed since Louis J. Robichaud introduced the law in 1969.

The law allowed for a Commissioner of Official Languages and brought in new rights, including rules when municipalities must translate their bylaws in both official languages.

While there is still work to be done, Jean-Marie Nadeau, the president of the Acadian Society of New Brunswick, said he's hopeful the province is moving toward a more linguistically inclusive society.

"I think we attain a certain inter-linguistic maturity in New Brunswick and we are getting closer to create what shall be, the real bilingual and equal community in New Brunswick," Nadeau said.

"So I'm very optimistic."