Fredericton, December 12, 2022 – The following statement was released today by Shirley MacLean, Commissioner of Official Languages for New Brunswick, following the government’s announcement on the review of the Official Languages Act of New Brunswick.
“After a year’s wait, today we received a vague response from the Premier on the review of the Official Languages Act.
The Report of the 2021 Review of the Official Languages Act of New Brunswick, by Commissioners Yvette Finn and John McLaughlin, included a detailed analysis and recommendations to continue the progression towards equality of status, rights and privileges of our two official languages. The government has now given some hints of a bill to come in the spring, without giving a full response to the report on the review.
While I applaud the creation of an Official Languages Secretariat within government, a long-standing recommendation of the Office of the Commissioner, I must admit that I am left wanting more information about the government’s other intentions regarding official languages in New Brunswick. This is an issue that I will continue to follow closely. In the meantime, I remain committed to listening to our two linguistic communities and to carrying out my mandate with integrity.”
Media contact:
Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages for New Brunswick
506-444-4229 or 1-888-651-6444 (toll free)
commissioner@officiallanguages.nb.ca