Brian Gallant links language tensions to economy, social media

Premier Brian Gallant says he thinks economic tough times and the rise of social media played a role in the apparent spike in language tensions in New Brunswick in 2015.

The people who oppose bilingualism may not be more numerous than in the past, but "they are heard a lot more than they used to be" because of social media, he told CBC News in a year-end interview.

It gives the impression to some that it's more tense than it ever has been.- Premier Brian Gallant on social media and language tensions

"It could be the same percentage, but they're heard a lot more," said Gallant. "It gives the impression to some that it's more tense than it ever has been."

If there is increased anti-bilingualism sentiment, Gallant said, it may be because the economy is "not in the right spot."

When governments are forced to make cuts, "any kind of tension can be inflamed a little bit," he said. "That's common and we see that across the globe."

He said the best way to address that is to make sure the economy improves by creating jobs.

Controversies in 2015

Among the language-related controversies in 2015:

• New anger over the long-standing practice of separate buses in the English and French school systems.
• A unilingual commissionaire having his hours reduced following a chance encounter with Official Languages Commissioner Katherine d'Entremont.
• Part-time and casual unilingual paramedics losing shifts because of Ambulance New Brunswick's new adherence to bilingualism requirements.

Gallant said amid those controversies, it was worth reflecting on the fact that most New Brunswickers believe in respecting the rights of both anglophones and francophones.

"We are a gem to the country and to the world on how people from different backgrounds, different ethnicities, different languages, and different perspectives can live together in a very positive way and contribute to each other's quality of life," he said.

While the Official Languages Act says the premier is responsible for the legislation, Gallant has largely delegated that role to cabinet minister Donald Arseneault.

For the most part, Arseneault, not Gallant, has spoken for the government on how d'Entremont handled the case of unilingual commissionaire Wayne Grant.

The one time Gallant spoke at length, he told reporters d'Entremont should focus on promoting progress on bilingualism and responding to the public's complaints, rather than initiating her own investigations.

But in his year-end interview, he spoke more philosophically, comparing the province to a family.

Family comparison

"Like any family, sometimes it can get a bit more tense than at other times, and that's normal," he said.

Progressive Conservative MLA Jake Stewart recently introduced a motion in the Legislature calling on the government to improve French immersion education in areas where it doesn't exist and boost French training for adults.

Stewart said in places where those programs don't exist, people grow up never having a chance to compete for government jobs that require bilingualism.

Gallant said he hopes his own bicultural background helps him relate to those concerns and respond to them.

Gallant's roots are English-speaking Dutch on his mother's side and Acadian on his father's side.

"So I have two distinct New Brunswick stories, two linguistic stories, two stories that I'm very proud of, and I think that gives me the ability, at least I hope, to understand where people are coming from," he said.

The premier said in his own family, francophone relatives sometimes switch to English to accommodate English-speakers, or stick with French to let the anglophones practice that language.

He said that same instinct to be civil and generous with each other is common among most people in the province.

"We sometimes are doing things because we want to be closer together, we want to work together, we want to overcome our challenges together, we want to seize our opportunities together," he said.

"But if we don't understand where the other person is coming from, there certainly could be an issue. I've seen some of that in my own life and I'll do the best I can as premier to bring everybody together."