The City of Dieppe is disappointed with the proposed changes to New Brunswick’s Official Languages Act.

They’ve pinpointed the removal of a requirement to review the Act every ten years.

“One of the review’s objectives is to improve the Act by considering the recommendations of various groups in our society, and by working to achieve substantive equality of both official languages. Without the review, that opportunity will no longer exist. In addition, opening the door to not reviewing the Act allows changes to be made behind the scenes without public debate,” said Mayor Lapierre.

He adds it is disappointing that nothing is being suggested to maintain the linguistic balance of the province, and no measures are being put forward to uphold the proportion of francophones, which is constantly decreasing.

“At a time when the most recent statistics show that the use of French is dropping across the country, our provincial government chooses not to bolster the Act. I doubt that the proposed changes are the solution to achieving equality between both linguistic communities in Canada’s only officially bilingual province. ”

He says the proposed Act does not live up to expectations and does not reflect today’s realities.

In its submission during the review of the province’s Official Languages Act, the City expressed the importance of official languages, to protect and promote the French language, which continues to decline.