The appellant challenged the appointment of a unilingual Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick as inconsistent with the province’s constitutional language guarantees.
The majority held that s. 16(2) of the Charter, interpreted purposively and in light of New Brunswick’s unique constitutional commitment to substantive linguistic equality, requires the holder of that unipersonal and highly symbolic office to be able to understand and communicate in both official languages when performing their functions.
The Court concluded that this requirement limits the exercise of the appointment power under s. 58 of the Constitution Act, 1867, but does not invalidate the office itself or amount to a constitutional amendment.
The appeal was allowed and a declaration issued, while the appointment and prior acts of the office holder were left undisturbed.
A three-judge dissent would have held that the Charter guarantees institutional rather than personal bilingualism and does not constitutionally mandate a bilingual appointee.
