The Official Languages Act is a law enacted by the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

which makes

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

the only officially bilingual province of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. This law prescribes that English and French are the two official languages of New Brunswick and have equal status in all provincial government institutions. The province of

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

was also bilingual when it was created in 1870, but has not maintained this status.

History

The first Official Languages Act of New Brunswick was adopted by the Liberal government of premier

Louis Robichaud Louis Joseph Robichaud (October 21, 1925 – January 6, 2005), popularly known as "Little Louis" or "P'tit-Louis", was the second (but first elected) Acadian premier of New Brunswick, serving from 1960 to 1970. With the Equal Opportunity p ...

on 18 April 1969, a few months before the adoption of the

Official Languages Act (Canada) The ''Official Languages Act'' (french: Loi sur les langues officielles; colloquially the ''Act'') is a Canadian law that came into force on September 9, 1969, which gives French and English equal status in the government of Canada. This makes ...

at the federal level. This law affects life in the province to the present day. The original text has been analyzed by the ''Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute (OLBI)'' at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

. In 1982, the

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part ...

was added to the

Constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents a ...

, and Section 16 of the charter entrenched the official bilingualism of New Brunswick in the Charter. In 1993, the Charter was modified by the insertion of section 16.1 which guarantees the equality of English-speaking and French-speaking residents of New Brunswick. In 2002, a new Official Languages Act was adopted by the Progressive Conservative government of

Bernard Lord Bernard Lord (born September 27, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer, business executive and former politician. He served as the 30th premier of New Brunswick from 1999 to 2006. Lord was appointed as board chair of Ontario Power Generation in 2014. Early ...

, replacing the 1969 Act, in order to include all the constitutional obligations of the province toward the two official languages imposed by the Charter. The new law created an Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages of New Brunswick with a mandate to apply the Official Languages Act in governmental institutions, and to promote bilingualism in New Brunswick. It also considers matters such as reasonable criteria for the translation of municipal laws, and the revision of the act every 10 years.

References

External link

New Brunswick law Bilingualism in Canada {{NewBrunswick-stub