QUESTION PERIOD — Canadian Heritage
Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments
May 17, 2022
My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Senator Gold, as my colleague mentioned, Canadians learned on Friday that the federal government will be appealing the decision of the Court of Queen’s Bench, which ruled as follows, and I quote:
. . . a Lieutenant-Governor in the Province of New Brunswick must be bilingual and capable of executing all tasks required of the Role of Lieutenant-Governor in both the English and the French Languages . . . .
Senator Gold, the government says it is committed to ensuring that the successor to the current Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick is bilingual, but as Minister Dominic LeBlanc has pointed out, including language requirements in legislation raises complex issues, particularly of a constitutional nature. That said, what process does the government intend to put in place to ensure the long-term bilingualism of this office?
I thank the senator for the question. Again, as I said earlier, the government recognizes that it is essential to appoint lieutenant-governors who are proficient in both official languages, given the status of New Brunswick as a bilingual province.
As you mentioned, and as I also noted, the government is committed to appointing bilingual lieutenant-governors in New Brunswick, starting with the next appointment process. As far as the format of that process is concerned, I will follow up with the government and come back to the chamber if such information is available.
Senator Gold, in 2012, Prime Minister Harper created the Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments, which was tasked with presenting recommendations to the Prime Minister on the selection of the governor general, lieutenant-governors and territorial commissioners. That committee has not met since 2015.
Senator Gold, in the interest of transparency with respect to a future process for appointing a bilingual Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, does the government intend to reinstate an advisory committee on vice-regal appointments, whose mandate would be to recommend bilingual candidates to the Prime Minister? If so, when and how? If not, why not?
Thank you for your question.
As I mentioned, I don’t have any information on the process being considered by the government. However, I will ask the question and get back to you with an answer as soon as possible.
