MO))) Editor May 26, 2016
Larry Lynch Verified

Stewart out on a language limb in leadership race

MLA Jake Stewart announces he is running for the leadership of the NB PC party. Says he will eliminate Language Commissioner in favour of more inclusive policies.

Jake Stewart officially announced his candidacy for the leadership of the New Brunswick Progressive Conservatives.  The conservatives lost the last election, and former leader and Premier David Alward resigned as leader after the defeat.  Stewart will join candidates Brian MacDonald, Blaine Higgs, Monica Barley, Mike Allen and Mel Norton in the race for the leadership.

Stewart told reporters after his announcement at the Blackville Municipal park on Thursday afternoon that he knows he is the dark horse in the race, and that his views on addressing issues of language fairness in the province will only get talked about during the campaign if the press asks the other candidates about it.  The topic was the main thrust of Stewart's speech to the crowd that assembled for his announcement, and it was well received.

Stewart said that during the 1960's era, America was going through a civil rights transformation, and New Brunswick, under Louis J. Robichaud,  proclaimed the Official Languages Act (OLA), which was finalized and adopted as whole Richard Hatfield.  Stewart said the act worked back then, and fostered harmony and fairness among all people in the province.

"It was a good decision back then, and everyone had an equal opportunity," said Stewart.  "I am inspired by the OLA.  The  Commissioner of the OLA was created 30 years after the OLA was proclaimed, and in recent years the actions and policies of the Commissioner have failed.  Only 10 years later, people find the policies of the office unfair and divisive.  We have to have more respect, and set the bar higher.  We are better than that."

"Public servants are worried about the security of their jobs, and the language police sneaking around corners.  New Brunswick people, as a whole, have witnessed th growing aggressiveness of this office and the Commissioner for long enough.  There is a concern millions are being wasted to fill arbitrary language quotas.  New Brunswick’s have a dream that my four children, and yours, will live in a province where they will not be judged by the language they speak, but by quality of their character."

Stewart said he would eliminate the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.

"As Premier, I promise the government will give priority to bring reasonable policies to very part of this province regardless of language or culture."

Stewart also touched on government efforts to create jobs in the province, and said as leader and Premier he would dismantle agencies that are in place to facilitate the corporate welfare that has failed create sustainable work  in new Brunswick over successive governments.

Dr. Jim Parrot was in attendance.  Parrot was turfed from the PC caucus for his remarks about duality in New Brunswick.  He supports Stewart as leader of the party.

"The way Stewart stands apart from other candidates is that he has a firm grasp of what we need in new Brunswick  Listen to his speech.  He touched on everything that needs to be done, and he doesn't hold back.  I have been critical of the two tier system, and it has to stop.  It is just not good for the province.  Because of that, like Jake says, we are losing people and our workforce is getting smaller all the time when university graduates have to go some other province to find work.  Jake will do a good job.  We have six leadership candidates, and it bodes well that there are many people who want to make a difference, and the goal should be to get a government in there for more than one term to get things done," said Parrot.  He also said that the OLA Commissioner should be shown the door.

Stewart told reporters that he was learning French, that a premier need not be bilingual (it was up to voters to decide), that front line jobs should be bilingual, but that management jobs do not have to be bilingual.  He was asked by one French media outlet if he would answer one question in French, but he declined saying he wasn't quite ready for that yet.

Stewart was asked what was wrong with having a language commissioner reporting on the act if it is not being followed.

"When I pick up the newspaper and the front page and read that the Language Commissioner filed a report based on 19 complaints, and 18  of those complaints came from the same person, that's one irritated citizen who could be doing this on purpose.  We have to get away from that.  As an MLA, I want the front page to be about the beauty of the province and tourism, about the company that wants to do business here.  I don't want to pick up the paper and read about a retired commissionaire who got fired because he can't speak french.  This is ridiculous.  There is no citizen who can relate to that and say it's great we have this office.  It has to be respectful.  We have to create harmony and we can't achieve that if people are becoming more and more divided.  My policies come from what people tell me are the issues."

How confident is Stewart he can attract mainstream conservatives when he goes against established policies on language and job creation.

"It's important as a leader not to celebrate our 80 history.  All legislation had good intentions.  I live a large riding, and talk to a lot of people.  People here want respect and the people I talk to feel the Commissioner of Official Languages has divided the public.  I am different from other leadership candidates, and I have distinguished myself from all of them because I have to stand on my own principles."

Will francophone members of the party support you?

"I can't speak for those people.  Our province has $13 billion dollars debt, and the front page story is a veteran who got fired for not being bilingual.  C'mon guys.  This is not what we need in New Brunswick and we all know it.  You cannot expect to attract investment in New Brunswick when the top story everyday is about a woman on witch hunt who is dividing the province.  I want to change the negative outlook."

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