David Raymond Amos@DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos@Kathryn98967631 and 48 others
Methinks her former McInnes Cooper partners such as Justice Richard
Bell, Lenny Hoyt and Franky Boy McKenna would think me crazy if I did
not find a little fun with the appointments of Denise LeBlanc N'esy Pas?
Relaxing bilingual rules for paramedics would violate charter, judge rules
418 Comments
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David Amos Methinks
her former McInnes Cooper law firm parteners such as Justice Richard
Bell, Lenny Hoyt and Franky Boy McKenna would think me crazy if I did
not find a little fun with the appointments of Denise LeBlanc. Nobody
can deny that I had dealings with her associates when she was she was a
member of the New Brunswick Securities Commission, a president of the
Canadian Bar Association, chaired dispute panels under the Canadian
Agreement on Internal Trade and a Tribunal Chairperson under the
province's Mental Health Act, I doubt the liberal lawyers Dominic
Leblanc, Brian Gallant, Serge Rouselle mentioned any of this to Jody
Wilson Raybould N'esy Pas?
Josef Blow Reply
to @David Amos: Dave, start your own newspaper for god’s sake! You can
make the front page everyday! You have far too much in common from a
narcissistic perspective, with the orange-haired guy to be on here.
Marguerite Deschamps Reply to @David Amos: Anglophone Richard Bell is fluently bilingual, by the way.
John Valcourt Then it is time to amend the offical languages act and the charter.
Ottawa launches review of official-languages law 50 years after its introduction
"The federal government is launching a review of the Official Languages
Act, saying it is time to modernize the decades-old law.
The 1969 law enshrined Canadians' right to receive federal services in English or French.
The last major reform of the law was in 1988 and there have been recent
calls to update it again, including from a Senate committee that late
last month said the act needs to be applied more effectively and
consistently."
Mack Leigh: Reply
to @David Amos: And in that review they are only allowing the
Francophones to have a voice and be heard... The rest of us are to
shut-up and put up.... This is all about Power and Control with Language
being the weapon of choice..
David Amos Reply
to @Mack Leigh: Methinks you may not know about the interesting letter I
got from the liberal lawyer known as Minister Melanie Joly a couple of
years ago but I did publish on the Internet just like I always do N'esy
Pas?
Lou Bell The
" McKenna Law . He and the SANB assured there would be no Anglophone
rights in their way to get complete control of the Province. Mission
accomplished.
Cleve Gallant
Reply to @Lou Bell:
Yup you’re absolutely right,It’s becoming ridiculous when a carpenter
gets fired because he couldn’t speak french to his hammer,
Josef Blow
Reply to @Cleve Gallant: some folks don’t even know how little they know .
.
Cleve Gallant
Reply to @Josef Blow: And you’re a Prime example lol !!!
David Amos
Content disabled Reply to @Cleve Gallant: "And you’re a Prime example lol !!! "
I agree
Confucius said, "To know that we know what we know, and that we do not
know what we do not know, that is true knowledge"" But Trolls
pretending to be wiseguys don't know that N'esy Pas?
Josef Blow Reply
to @Cleve Gallant: Poor Cleve. I'd debate you but, alas, you are sorely
defenceless. Anyway, thank you for capitalizing the P in prime … it
makes me shiver …
Jake Newman time to use the notwithstanding clause
Daryl Doucette
Reply to @Jake Newman: YES!
Marguerite Deschamps Reply
to @daryl doucette: you cannot invoke the notwithstanding clause in
order to trump language rights. It can only override sections 2 and 7 to
15. Case closed !
David Amos
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: "It can only override sections 2 and 7 to 15. Case closed ! "
Methinks Bernie Lord, Serge Rouselle, Brian Gallant, Michel Doucet,
Michel Carrier and all your other SANB leagel buddies need to review
Federal Court File No T--1557-15 ASAP N'esy Pas?
Josef Blow
Reply to @Jake Newman: Are you suggesting that NB do that, notwithstanding your comment?
Josef Blow
Reply to @daryl doucette: Wow, now the support is REALLY important ...
Josef Blow
Reply to @Cleve Gallant: … the universal language of the whole world? What Youtube video showed you that?
Josef Blow
Reply to @David Amos:
Dave, please do a favour and draft a short resume for the uninitiated
and smother us all with a dab of your everlasting imprint on human
evolution …; you are soooo popular and knowledgeable. Applied for the
papacy yet?
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @David Amos: and you think you can teach Michel Doucet something about linguistic rights? Well I've got news for you.
Michael G. L. Geraldson Paramedics
typically work in teams of two. As long as one is bilingual wouldn't
that suffice? The bilingual rides with the patient and the other drives
the ambulance.
David Amos
Reply to @Michael G. L. Geraldson: Methinks the SANB would never allow common sense to be applied to this issue N'esy Pas?
Les Cooper NB will never improve as long as it's bilingual.
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @Les Cooper: Switzerland is doing quite well with four official languages.
Brian
Robertson
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: What?
Aren't you going to bring up Belgium too.
The thing is, both Countries operate as a loose federation of seperate
states. It's not the overlapped multilingual abomination that has been
imposed upon New Brunswick.
Also, there is a factual need for working knowledge of multiple
languages in Europe. Here in New Brunswick, as in Canada itself, the
ONLY need for a working knowledge of French is one imposed by the
Government; not the people.
Mack Leigh
Reply to @Brian Robertson: Bravo Brian,,,, extremely well stated !!
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @Brian
Robertson: the more the world goes global (as it is), the more the
knowledge of the French language is an asset. It is still an
international language, to your dismay, that's a given.
David White
Reply to @Marguerite
Deschamps: Switzerland was formed by mutual agreement, Canada was won by
the British fighting the French in the end.
Big difference in the cultural history.
That's the reason we still have this issue, this is in no way comparable to Switzerland.
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @David
White: the British didn't win. There was a treaty signed by two despot
kings without consultation with the people, including First Nations who
got along well with the French before the British came along. This
country was built on compromises with the French and First Nations
cooperating together in order to contain the US threat. Learn you
history.
Rod McLeod
Reply to @Marguerite
Deschamps: Globally, Spanish and Mandarin come in ahead of french
(french rarely does all that well on the global languages lists). As a
working language, english leads for global infrastructures such as air
travel.
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @Rod McLeod:
no argument about the English language, that's why I learned it and it
served me well, as did the French and Spanish too, I might add. French
is still a major international language, to your dismay, I know.
David
White
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: If the British didn't win why do we have the Queen on our money?
David
White
Reply to @Marguerite
Deschamps: You keep telling yourself that, that's an ideal concept to
the actuality. You can win economically, cultural, not just through
military.
Mack Leigh
Reply to @Marguerite
Deschamps: " Including First Nations who got along well with the French
",,,yeah,, and that was why Cardinal Richelieu made a decree to the
French and I quote " Breed the Natives out ".... Your " knowledge " of
history is extremely selective it seems.
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @David
White: the queen is like the pope and religion. It's all a smokescreen
and totally useless just To control the masses and give them a purpose.
David Amos
Content disabled
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: "the queen is like the pope and religion"
Yea Right Methinks its high time for you to take your meds and have a nap N'esy Pas?
David White
Reply to @Marguerite
Deschamps: Regardless, that still doesn't answer 'if the Brits didn't
win why is she on our money' and also our token figure head for
Parliament? Who do you think put her there? The French perhaps? :)
David White
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: I don't disagree about the smokescreen btw. but that doesn't change facts.
Larry Larson
Reply to @Marguerite
Deschamps: Yes they are and since you mentioned Switzerland, the country
has 4 distinct regions. In Valais and other French speaking areas, the
language of employment and day to day living is French. In Bern and
most of northern Switzerland, the language of work is Swiss-German,
there is a smaller are closer to Italy that functions in Italian and
Romancsh is spoken in an even smaller area. By the way, should you
choose to live and work in an area that speak Swiss-German then you are
required to speak Swiss-German and the same for French. It is NOT a
choice it is a must depending on the Majority language spoken in that
area! So can we now transfer your statement to New Brunswick?
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @David
White: it was forced on us, just like some say about the French
language. By the way, there are no Whites hailing from Great Britain.
They are of french origin who changed their name from LeBlanc to White
in order to be able to get a job.
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @Larry
Larson: here we do it differently. New Nouveau-Brunswick is a small
region of Canada where both offcial languages is a requirement.
Mack Leigh
Reply to @Marguerite
Deschamps: What was changed to the benefit of one minority can and will
be changed again....only this time for the benefit of everyone..
Cleve Gallant
Reply to @Les Cooper: The french don’t care about N!B, They just want their own way,
Wallace Gouk
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: Take a look at the stats. French is a dying language propped up only by politics.
Rj LeBlanc
Reply to @Les Cooper: Would you feel better if it was unilingual french?
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @Mack Leigh:
the pope, the cadinals and the monarchy, aka the malarkey, I put them
all in the same pot, all despots controlling the masses. I'm sure,
Richelieu must have said it. He was ruling France before the other
despot, Louis XIV was old enough to take over. They were all in cahoots
with tese blue blood tyrants of Europe. What gave them the power or
right to seal the fate of North America?
Brian Robertson
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: The more the world globalizes, the less relevant French is becoming.
In a eurocentric world, France and it's language had an historical
significance. On a global scale, the instances of French has plumeted,
being displaced by the languages of far Mandarin, Tagalog, Arabic, etc.
I'm sure it is somewhat traumatic for anyobe whose language is in
decline. But it happens, and the general public shouldn't be burdened
with keeping it afloat.
Wendy Staples Call
me a cynical old broad but I suspect this was part of the discussion
that took place in 2014 when the Official Languages Act got manipulated
behind closed doors by a minority group of this province. When other
stakeholders asked to be in attendance to ensure equal voices were heard
for both official linguistic communities they were told no, it would be
too controversial......well the fall-out from those discriminating
closed door meetings are beginning to surface. I would hope that
whatever changes were made in the 2014 meetings get clawed back based on
blatant discrimination ….. Mr. Higgs, let's see if you have the gravel
to actually straighten this linguistic mess out!
David Amos
Reply to @Wendy Staples: 'Call me a cynical old broad"
Your wish is my command
Daryl Doucette Reply to @Wendy Staples: the meetings were in 2012.
Josef Blow
Reply to @David Amos: Such a clever man this Dave.
Marguerite Deschamps What
is wrong with this province or country is that some refuse to learn the
two official languages while many in the world can speak many, some up
to 15 languages. It's either because of ineptness or pigheadedness due
to a hatred of the French language. It it's the former, one can be
excused. If it's the latter, then what does that makes him?
Les Cooper
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: There is no requirement to have a French language. It's as obsolete as mic mac.
David
White
Reply to @Marguerite
Deschamps: I think you are dead wrong on this view, it's hard to
convince people to go out of their way to learn something that they
perceive isn't useful or of value to them. Calling it 'hatred' is just
fanning the flames. BTW I
speak three languages and having lived in Europe and Asia, English has
served me better than my French and Italian for most of my travels. I am
in no way advocating anything against french, but to convince people to
learn a language THEY feel they will hardly use is a difficult task.
Also, most of Switzerland pretty much speaks English despite having 4
languages, I lived there.
Marguerite
Deschamps
Reply to @David
White: I am in Europe as I write and French is serving me quite well
when English does not. How many times do I have to be the interpreter
for my unilingual English friends?
David
White
Reply to @David
White: Also when the world is after the 'American Dream' and infiltrated
by its cultural Juggernaut that also doesn't help matters.
David
White
Reply to @Les Cooper: Mi'kmaw
David Amos
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: "How many times do I have to be the interpreter for my unilingual English friends?"
Methinks everybody knows that it would be beneath you to have English friends N'esy Pas?
Wallace
Gouk
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: But we are not in Europe !
Marguerite
Deschamps
Reply to @David Amos:
from my lifelong expérience, the ones with the superiority complex are
not the one you try to make it appear.
Marguerite
Deschamps
Reply to @Wallace
Gouk: but we are more and more heading towards globalization where
French, Spanish and other major languages are an asset and where the
kmowledge of French makes it easier to learn other Latin languages .
Daryl Doucette
Reply to @daryl doucette: WOW that was the quickest one ever there Mr blow!
David Amos Content disabled Reply to @daryl doucette: Methinks the Trolls can come and go like lightening sometimes N'esy Pas?
Josef Blow Reply to @daryl doucette: ?
Jake Quinlan
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: Do you think Quebec should be officially bilingual?
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @Jake Quinlan: of course, like all other provinces in Canada! Let BC and Ontario showmthe way.
David
Stairs since
when does Public Safety get over ruled in the interest of a language
requirement...this issue is not being presented in the proper
light...can you imagine if a Paramedic or a Law Enforcement officer
refused to treat or help someone in dire straights because he or she
could not speak their language..that is called neglect of duty...what is
wrong with these judges and their lack of common sense...it is not the
judges duty to fix the woes of society but to rule on Common Law and
Common Sense...
John
O'Brien
Reply to @David
Stairs: most , if not all, of the judges in NB are deep in the pocket of
SANB.There is no such thing as an independent court when it comes to
language issues. I can still remember the case in Fredericton where a
man was passed out drunk at the wheel of his car with it running. A
mountie rousted the man and he replied in English , so the Mountie
continued in English.
Being inebriated behind the wheel of a running vehicle is a clear violation of the law but the judge ( a
Marguerite Deschamps ...
Reply to @John
O'Brien: for one who has been following language cases in NB should be
well aware that judges have upheld Anglophone rights as well when they
were violated such as the McGraw case in Tracadie in 2012. McGraw got
off the hook for the same reason. For one who's supposed to know, why
did you overlook that one?
David Amos
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: What of Federal Court File No T-1557-15?
Larry Larson
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: The only McGraws I know in Tracadie are French so what are you talking about?
Larry Larson:
Reply to @Larry Larson:
Just now
Reply to @Larry Larson: Never mind, I just read the case! It should have
been tossed, too, simply because the law is stewpid and being abused!
When someone speaks to you in a language that you understand then your
rights are NOT being violated!
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @Larry Larson: see, I told you so! Ken McGraw, sounds quite English to me!
David Amos
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: Methinks you never read a thing N'esy Pas?
R. v McGraw (2007)
Year: 2007
Categories: Language rights and services to the public
Court: Court of Appeal of New Brunswick
Citation: 2007 NBCA 11
"the Court of Appeal upheld the decision rendered in the Court of
Queen’s Bench to vacate the convictions, but set aside the verdicts of
acquittal, ordered a new trial on both Notices of Prosecution and
directed the trial judge to order their withdrawal pursuant to section
106(7) of the POPA, in the event that Mr. McGraw is called upon to
answer the charges once again."
Marguerite Deschamps Reply
to @David Amos: although as imminent a jurist as you profess to be, and
being the example of ethics everyone should abide by, we will say that
you must have overlooked the conclusion of the Chief Justice in the last
paragraph of the McGraw decsision:
35 I would wrap up the proceedings by echoing the summary conviction
appeal judge's emphasis on the importance of linguistic rights in New
Brunswick, the only Province with two official languages. Language
rights, whether sourced in the Charter, the Official Languages Act or
POPA, set us apart in the Canadian federation; as time goes by, more and
more of our citizens proudly view those rights as what defines them as
New Brunswickers. Hopefully, the outcome of these proceedings will bring
home to peace officers engaged in the enforcement of provincial
legislation that language rights are infrangible.
Leave to appeal to the Supreme Court was refused, by the way.
Mack Leigh If garbage like this continues I forecast an uprising in the not too distant future.....people are fed up with this garbage..
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @Mack Leigh: are you advocating sedition? That's a crime in Canada.
Mack Leigh
Reply to @Marguerite
Deschamps: What is a crime is apartheid-style governing of our province
with one minority having full , unfettered control to the detriment of
all others....that is the real crime.
Christopher Beliveau
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: Right to free assembly, thats a right in Canada.
Marc Martin
Reply to @Mack Leigh: We are in control ?? Didn't Higgs and PANB just got voted in power ?
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @Christopher Beliveau: definition of "uprising": an act of resistance or rebellion; a revolt.
Mack Leigh
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: If what is going on in NB regarding language isn't absolutely revolting then what is !
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: "oat".
David Amos
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: "That's a crime in Canada."
So is libel
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @David Amos: not if it's true!
David Amos
Reply to @Marguerite
Deschamps: Thats a moot point. In my humble opinion the truth is never
libel. However methinks you need to study more law in order to argue a
mere layman who loves to sue lawyers N'esy Pas?
Josef Blow Reply
to @David Amos: Suing is quite different from prevailing. Moreover,
your own assessment of your legal knowledge is highly overrated... lol
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @Josef Blow: one of these days, he's going to get hit with onerous court costs for his frivolous actions.
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @Josef Blow: one of these days, he's going to get hit with onerous court costs for his frivolous actions.
John Valcourt Then it is time to amend the offical languages act and the charter.
David Amos Reply to @John Valcourt: I concur
Josef Blow Reply
to @David Amos: He doth "concur". Justice Valcourt must be delighted
that JusDis Amos doth subscribe to his pov. Dave, you been readin' law
books or sumpan fancy like dat?
Samual Johnston it
is hard to understand the logic - are they saying the government has to
fill the positions with bilingual individuals no matter the cost? It
can be done -- offer $250,000 salary and all sorts of bilinguals will
stream in from around the world. Not real good for us tax payers
though.
Marc Martin
Reply to @Samual
Johnston: The position were already being filled out by outside sources
by the government but the Union and the English population where against
it.
David Amos
Reply to @Samual Johnston: What logic???
Samual Johnston Reply to @Marc Martin: if they were being filled without additional cost then that would be ok in my book.
Nathan
Simpson So
if you're driving up the road and come across someone who is badly
injured/maybe dying in an accident and you only speak English. You get
out to help and the person hurt only speaks French (or it could be the
other way). What do you do?
Are we getting into an area where people are going to stop and think
about maybe they are violating someone's chartered rights to language
before helping them? Maybe being unable to communicate leads to
unnecessary pain, opening the possibility of being sued or something.
And for the record I have stopped before in the past to help people who
needed it without seeing who it was that I was helping, and will
continue to do so in the future.
Mack Leigh
Reply to @Nathan
Simpson: Also wonder about the " rights " of every other person in this
province whose first language is neither English or French..... This
whole forced official bilingualism garbage has gone from the sublime to
the absolutely ridiculous....... NB should return to ONE official
language only and that language should be the language of the
majority... Enough of this apartheid governing...
Marc Martin
Reply to @Mack Leigh: Why don't we make everything French ?
Joseph
Vachier
Reply to @Marc Martin: because its a useless dying language
Marguerite
Deschamps
Reply to @Joseph
Vachier: you should travel more; hundreds of million speak French in the
world. You just hate that language, admit it!
Les Cooper
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: they speak real french not Acadian half and half
Les Cooper
Reply to @Marc Martin: LMAO
Marguerite
Deschamps
Reply to @Les Cooper: I speak perfect French and an understood in that language wherever I go in the world.
David Amos
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: Methinks it strange that you can't make yourself understood in the forum N'ey Pas?
Mack Leigh
Reply to @David Amos:
Let's make everything German... Let's make everything Irish
Gaelic...Let's make everything Scottish Gaelic....Let's make everything
Italian....Let's make everything ................. No wait, the
language of the Majority which is comprised of all languages
is.....English... Time to abolish Forced Official Bilingualism and
return to one official language....the language of the majority......
English...
Marguerite
Deschamps
Reply to @Mack Leigh: forget it. It will never happen.
David Amos
Reply to @Marguerite
Deschamps: Methinks if Quebec had the cajones to finally spit from
Canada it would happen overnight N'esy Pas?
William Henry So,
nothing is better than something. Only in the SANB world. I assumed
Madame LeBlanc was a graduate of the UdeM law school and guess
what.........she is! How could I have known she was part of the UdeM
mafia!!!!
Mike Steeves
@Marc Martin: i think
that people are just tired of the Pro-French Anti-English sentiment in
our NB culture sir. Its not that any of us are against french, but to
make it necessary to have everyone be fluently bilingual in a province
where only 2 percent of the population identified as not being
functional in English, is just way off base and to be frank, really
stupid.
William Henry
Reply to @Marc Martin:
Actually you are wholly incorrect. All I'm looking for is someone who
will make decisions based on reality not based on utopia. Nobody
fundamentally disagrees with the need to communicate in many languages,
not just English and French, however, we do live in reality of not
having the human resources, not just in this profession, to do this.
What strikes me is that groups like the UdeM mafia and the SANB vocally
say it would be better to have no paramedic show up to a call than one
that has to use technology to communicate. WOW. We know its not
perfect, but its better than nothing.
William Henry
Reply to @Marc
Martin: You are so bigoted on this issue you cant even accept that there
are ideals and then there is reality. Im done with you!!
Marguerite
Deschamps
Reply to @William Henry: maybe you shuoshould be charged with contempt of court.
Court
of Queen's Bench Justice Denise LeBlanc quashed a 2018 ruling by labour
arbitrator John McEvoy. She ruled that Ambulance New Brunswick and the
provincial government can't relax the bilingual hiring requirements. (CBC)
A judge has ruled that Ambulance New Brunswick and the
provincial government can't relax the bilingual hiring requirements for
paramedics because doing that would violate the Official Languages Act
and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The decision by Court of Queen's Bench Justice Denise LeBlanc quashes a 2018 ruling by labour arbitrator John McEvoy.
McEvoy
found ANB's practice of not filling permanent, full-time positions with
unilingual paramedics violated the union contract because it gave
preference to bilingual candidates with less seniority.
McEvoy suggested the province forgo
hiring bilingual paramedics in areas of the province where there is less
demand for second-language service. He suggested crews use a "language
line" that would let a patient talk to a bilingual staffer over a radio
system.
But
in her decision, LeBlanc said previous legal precedents make clear that
a radio or phone system does not meet the requirement for equal service
in both languages.
The effect of implementing the McEvoy ruling
"would be the denial of the right of citizens of New Brunswick to
receive services of equal quality in the language of their choice
anywhere in the province," she wrote.
And she said that the radio system "does not, in matters regarding official languages, constitute a service of equal quality."
Premier Blaine Higgs said he will respect the ruling. (CBC)
Premier
Blaine Higgs said the decision is mostly irrelevant because his
government decided not to implement McEvoy's decision and to find other
ways to address idled ambulances and a lack of full-time work for
unilingual paramedics.
"This decision is something that is related
to our requirements as a bilingual province, and I'll respect the
outcome of that," he said.
Ruling is 'nothing new'
Retired
law professor Michel Doucet said the ruling was not a surprise because
it's consistent with court rulings and legislation going back to 1969.
"It's
nothing new," said Doucet, who represented Michel Carrier, the official
languages commissioner, at the January hearing in the case.
Michel
Doucet, a retired law professor, said the ruling was not surprising
since it's consistent with past court rulings and legislation. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
"It's
just that the government has to put in place measures to ensure that
citizens receive quality services in the language of their choice
everywhere in the province of New Brunswick."
Greg McConaghy, the
president of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4848, which
represents paramedics, could not be reached for comment.
The union filed the grievance that led to the McEvoy ruling and had urged the court to uphold it.
"Please
allow us time to review the decision and update you soon on what this
all means," said a post on the union's Facebook page.
CUPE lawyer Glen Gallant said the union would evaluate whether to file an appeal.
In the 36-page ruling, LeBlanc writes that "regrettably,"
McEvoy's analysis "was made outside and with no consideration of the
constitutional language regime particular to New Brunswick" or previous
court decisions.
The
Progressive Conservatives and the People's Alliance campaigned in
2018 on promises to address what they said were slow ambulance response
times because many bilingual positions were not being filled. (CBC)
That
includes Section 20 (2) of the charter, which says any member of the
public "has the right to communicate with, and to receive available
services from," the provincial government.
The question of bilingual paramedics became a campaign issue in last year's provincial election.
The
Progressive Conservatives and the People's Alliance campaigned on
promises to address what they said were slow response times because many
bilingual positions were not being filled.
After the PCs took
power, Health Minister Ted Flemming said the government would adopt some
of McEvoy's ideas, such as relaxing the bilingual requirement in some
areas of the province.
But
a month later the government abandoned that approach. Instead it said
it would offer the unilingual paramedics permanent, full-time positions
and assign them to "float teams" to fill spots where no bilingual
applicant is available.
At the same time, the province and ANB
said they would continue to try to meet the legal obligation to
designate at least one bilingual paramedic position on every two-person
ambulance team.
Ruling vexes People's Alliance
People's
Alliance Leader Kris Austin called the new ruling "unfortunate" and said
if he were the premier, he would implement McEvoy's recommendations
regardless.
"It's easy for the courts to sit and interpret the
law," Austin said. "It's another thing for the government and the
province to implement the practicalities of everyday service to the
citizens."
People's
Alliance Leader Kris Austin said the ruling was 'unfortunate' and he
rejected the idea that a radio or phone translation system is
unacceptable. (Radio-Canada)
Austin
also rejected the finding that the radio line translation is
unacceptable, citing simultaneous translation used in the legislature —
though that translation is required by different sections of the law and
the Constitution.
"We might have to look at the law," he said. "That's what we're here to do. We're here to make laws and change laws."
He said he would consider introducing a bill to amend the act and a resolution to amend the charter.
Green
Leader David Coon said the ruling should settle the long-running debate
about the legal requirement for bilingual ambulance service.
"It should resolve it, because the decision is clearly that we have to provide those services directly, by people," he said.
"The
People's Alliance have got to give that up and deal with the reality of
New Brunswick, which is that we are a bilingual province, where we
provide services to New Brunswickers in both official languages."
Beaulac decision
LeBlanc's decision cites two decades of legal precedents stemming from the Supreme Court of Canada's 1999 Beaulac decision.
That
landmark ruling said that language equality requires "equal access to
services of equal quality" in both languages and is not an accommodation
or compromise for a minority language group.
The ruling also said that governments can't ignore their language obligations over a "mere administrative inconvenience."
Jacques
Poitras has been CBC's provincial affairs reporter in New Brunswick
since 2000. Raised in Moncton, he also produces the CBC political
podcast Spin Reduxit.
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