The law recognising the equality of the two linguistic communities of New Brunswick, or the more succinct Law 88, is a law adopted by the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is located in Fredericton. It was established de jure when the colony was created in 1784, but only came in to session in 1786 following the first elections in late 1785. Until 1891, it was the lower house in a bicameral legislature when its upper house...

, recognising the equality of the Anglophone and Francophone linguistic communities of the province

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

.

Description

On the 17 July 1981, the Legislative Assembly adopted the law, with consists of three articles. For the first time, the statutory equality of the Acadians as a linguistic community, and urges the provincial government to protect and promote the development of the Acadian

Acadian

The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...

 community. Law 88, more commonly referred to as "Bill 88" in English, complemented the 1969 Official Languages of New Brunswick law, which established French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 and English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 as official languages of the legislature and of the provincial administration.

The law was, however, more declaratory than practical: "The vagueness of the legislation made it extremely difficult to implement. Consequently, it ... remained idle until its [later] inclusion in the companion resolution to the 1987 Meech Lake Accord

Meech Lake Accord

The Meech Lake Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and ten provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the government of the Province of Quebec to endorse the 1982 Canadian Constitution and increase...

". The so-called "companion resolution" was enacted in 1993 as section 16.1 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Reasons for introducing the law

In 1979, the Société des Acadiens du Nouveau Brunswick had voted, at a provincial conference, for the Acadian-majority areas in the north and north-east of the province to break away and form an independent Acadian province. As well, a separatist Acadian party had been formed. As Premier Richard Hatfield

Richard Hatfield

Richard Bennett Hatfield, PC, ONB was a New Brunswick politician and long time Premier of the province .- Early life :...

 would later on explain, these considerations caused Michel Bastarache

Michel Bastarache

J. E. Michel Bastarache is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and retired puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada....

, a prominent Acadian lawyer, to recommend to the premier's French lieutenant that the government "come up with some initiative to satisfy 'les Acadiens', and Bill 88 was the result."

External links

• Loi reconnaissant l'égalité des deux communautés linguistiques officielles au Nouveau-Brunswick, L.N.-B., chap. O-1.1, 1981.