Austin faces tough questions on language at PC party meeting
CBC
Tensions within the governing Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick burst into the open Saturday when two francophone party members confronted cabinet minister Kris Austin about his views on bilingualism.
The two members, both presidents of PC riding associations in northern areas of the province, spoke during a question-and-answer session with cabinet ministers.
One of them, Gertrude McLaughlin of Tracadie, asked Austin to commit to supporting official bilingualism, which he did.
The other, Léopold Ouellet of Restigouche West, said he didn't accept Austin's explanation that bilingualism hasn't been properly implemented in the half-century since it was made law.
"You're 50 years late, Mr. Minister," Ouellett said. "Don't try to change things your way. It won't work. The laws are there. People know them. They should follow them."
He said Austin's explanation for why he hadn't learned French himself "doesn't fly. It doesn't work."
Austin thanked both members for bringing up what he called "the elephant in the room" — his 12-year history with the People's Alliance party he founded and some of the language stances he took in that role.
Austin quit the Alliance in March and joined the PCs. He was sworn in as public safety minister last month.
"I support the right of both anglophone and francophone residents in this province to receive services in their language of choice because we are an officially bilingual province," Austin told McLaughlin.
He added: "There's always differences of opinion on how it's implemented and this is where I have maybe a little different view."
He said that was the same opinion he had as Alliance leader.
"I will give you my word as I have before: I'm not here to take anybody's rights away. I never have been."
After McLaughlin and Ouellet made their comments, another francophone PC member, Roger Léger of Dieppe, appealed for party supporters to pull together.
He said anglophones had been "tolerant" of francophones' push to "catch up" on their rights since the 1960s and "now it is time for francophones to [allow] some reshaping, some tweaking."
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