Court Rules New Brunswick Lieutenant-Governor Must Be Bilingual

Court Rules New Brunswick Lieutenant-Governor Must Be Bilingual
Brenda Murphy, lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, addresses a memorial gathering in Edmundston, N.B., June 13, 2020. The Canadian Press/Stephen MacGillivray
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau violated constitutional language protections when he appointed a unilingual anglophone lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, but striking down the nomination would cause a constitutional crisis, a court ruled Thursday.

While the 2019 appointment of Brenda Murphy as lieutenant-governor of the officially bilingual province violated the rights of the province’s minority francophones, New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Tracey K. DeWare wrote that it will be up to the federal government to decide what to do next.