New Brunswick Government Files Appeal Over Health Board Dissolution
The current Holt administration in New Brunswick seeks to overturn a December court decision that deemed the previous Higgs government’s dissolution of the Vitalité health board a violation of minority language rights. Officials from the attorney general’s office submitted a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal in Fredericton on Thursday afternoon.
This move follows just two days after the government revealed plans to restore elected positions on regional health authority boards, starting in 2030. Previously, both the Vitalité and Horizon boards featured eight elected members and seven appointed seats.
Background of the 2022 Health-Care Overhaul
In July 2022, amid a significant restructuring of the province’s health-care system triggered by a patient’s death in the emergency department waiting room at Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital, then-Premier Blaine Higgs disbanded both boards. He appointed a trustee for each, replaced the health minister, and dismissed Dr. John Dornan, who served as president and CEO of Horizon at the time.
Dr. Hubert Dupuis, president of Égalité Santé en Français, a francophone advocacy group, argues that eliminating the Vitalité board infringed on Section 16.1 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This section ensures equality between Canada’s English and French linguistic communities, including access to distinct institutions vital for their preservation and promotion.
Court’s December Ruling
The group filed a legal challenge, contending the board’s replacement with an appointed trustee breached Charter protections. On December 30, Justice Christa Bourque of the Court of King’s Bench ruled that the action contradicted core Charter values.
“Vitalité plays an essential role in the life of the francophone minority language community,” Bourque stated in her decision. “The dissolution of the board took away the control that the community exercised through its elected members.”
Grounds for the Appeal
In the appeal notice, provincial authorities contend that the judge committed legal errors, deviated from proper procedures, and improperly drew on unwritten constitutional principles. They also assert she expanded the interpretation of a Charter provision in a manner inconsistent with a recent Court of Appeal ruling on the Acadian Peninsula courthouses case.
Justice Minister and Attorney General Robert McKee emphasized in a statement that the decision prompts key legal issues warranting further review. “The government is deeply committed to respecting, promoting, and advancing both official languages in New Brunswick,” McKee said.
He added that pursuing an appeal would enable courts to offer clearer guidance on the ruling’s implications for government operations and decision-making. “Our respect for the French linguistic community and for the principle of linguistic equality remains fundamental to our government and to who we are as a province,” McKee noted. “The decision to appeal is about ensuring clarity for the future governance of our health-care system.”
Reaction from Francophone Advocates
Dr. Hubert Dupuis labeled the appeal a “stab in the back” for the francophone community in a French-language statement. “How can we say one day that we’re going to reinstate elected representatives to the board of directors and, the next day, argue that the Higgs government was right to abolish them?” he questioned. “This government is the epitome of a weather vane.”
Dupuis highlighted this as the third recent dispute involving francophone rights in the province. In September, the Court of Appeal determined that closing two courthouses on the Acadian Peninsula did not breach constitutional language protections, relieving the government of any duty to reconsider the closures.
Additionally, the Supreme Court of Canada is currently reviewing arguments from November concerning the 2019 appointment of Brenda Murphy as lieutenant-governor, which challengers claim was unconstitutional due to her unilingual status.
