Shirley MacLean is the Commissioner of Official Languages for New Brunswick. (supplied by GNB)
Between April 2019 and March 2020, the office of the Official Languages Commissioner received 133 complaints, of which 62 were valid.
53 involved a lack of service in French while nine complaints dealt with a lack of service in English.
Commissioner Shirley MacLean spoke of a complaint involving the provincial health authorities.
“In the case of the Vitalite Health Network, the complainant did not receive an active offer service in both official languages and was told that the hospital was a ‘French hospital,'” MacLean said.
A case involving Horizon Health involved a complaint with 13 incidents where service was not actively offered in both official languages on the phone and in person.
MacLean said in both cases the correct protocols and measures were in place but not used.
Government COVID-19 Briefing Complaints
MacLean says complaints began coming in once the provincial government briefings on COVID-19 began.
“Mainly relating to the unequal use of both official languages during the news conferences.
There is simultaneous interpretation available at these news conferences but the benefit of
hearing messages, especially in times of crisis, in your own language cannot be overstated,” MacLean said.
MacLean said the premier, officials from the Department of Health and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell have been receptive to their concerns and have been working to improve certain practices.
MacLean Aims To ‘Build Bridges Between Linguistic Communities’
Since taking on the role in January, MacLean said she has met with many government officials in several departments where she was pleased to find an awareness of the legislative obligation.
“But also a willingness and openness to work with our office to make sure these obligations are met. My team and I will be looking for ways to build bridges between our linguistic communities and to share our mutual experience,” MacLean said.
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