The New Brunswick Court of Appeal has declared that the closure of two courthouses on the Acadian Peninsula did not infringe on the language rights of francophone residents. The province shut down the court facilities in Caraquet at the end of 2021 and downsized the Tracadie court to a satellite operation in 2022, redirecting all cases to Bathurst.
A group of peninsula mayors contended that the closures breached sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms safeguarding the rights of anglophone and francophone New Brunswickers to their educational and cultural institutions. However, the court ruling clarified that the Charter’s Section 16.1 guarantee does not extend to courthouses.
Justice Denise LeBlanc, part of a three-judge panel, stated that courts do not fall under the definition of “distinct institutions” as outlined in Section 16.1. She highlighted the absence of a clear connection between the rights in question and the arguments put forth by the mayors.
The decision acknowledged that residents of the Acadian Peninsula would still have access to judicial services in French, albeit with the added inconvenience of traveling a greater distance by car. It also pointed out previous courthouse closures affecting the English linguistic community in New Brunswick.
Caraquet Mayor Bernard Thériault, representing the mayors’ forum, expressed a preference for dialogue with the province rather than pursuing an appeal. He mentioned receiving indications from Premier Susan Holt’s government about engaging in discussions to potentially reinstate court services in at least one community on the peninsula.
The closures were implemented by the previous Progressive Conservative government led by Blaine Higgs, citing declining case numbers and the efficiency of consolidating court services in Bathurst. Evidence presented by the province indicated reduced trial wait times and fewer cancellations post-centralization.
While the forum of mayors raised concerns about the impact on local stakeholders and francophone rights, the Court of Appeal disagreed with the previous ruling by Court of King’s Bench Justice Christa Bourque. The Appeal Court stated that the Charter does not guarantee unhindered access to local judicial services and dismissed claims of inequality between the English and French linguistic communities in the province.
