Official Languages committee  Many organizations could make material available. The association makes its decision when it selects an exam for which there are more resources in English than in French. However, our act states, "No person shall be placed at a disadvantage." That's where the problem lies in New Brunswick.

Official Languages committee  Yes. That's what the association must do to comply with the act in New Brunswick.

Official Languages committee  I don't know whether professional associations fall under the French Language Services Act in Ontario. That would surprise me.

Official Languages committee  I don't think Mr. Boileau has jurisdiction to deal with that type of complaint in Ontario. As I said in my presentation, linguistic obligations have applied to New Brunswick's professional associations since July 1st, 2016. That's as a result of the revisions that were made to the provincial Official Languages Act in 2013 and 2015.

Official Languages committee  We didn't explore that subject. We simply observed the current situation, which is inconsistent with New Brunswick's act. The decision on what steps should be taken will be the association's responsibility. However, the finding applies to New Brunswick as a result of its act, which governs the associations.

Official Languages committee  Yes, under section 2 of the Official Languages Act of New Brunswick, the premier is responsible for the administration of the act. He can therefore require the association to take measures to comply with the act.

Official Languages committee  No, we didn't examine that question. What interested us was whether New Brunswick's Official Languages Act had been contravened.

Official Languages committee  You're talking here about a labour force that moves from one province to another.

Official Languages committee  That's correct: everyone must be given an equal chance. That's what the act states. So it will be up to the association to make the decisions and to see what it can do.

Official Languages committee  Unfortunately, we haven't received any information from the association since our investigation report was released a month ago.

Official Languages committee  We spoke with certain individuals after issuing the report, but not with association representatives.

Official Languages committee  I can't answer that. We conducted an investigation to determine whether New Brunswickers who speak French were being put at a disadvantage in their efforts to meet the requirements of their profession. We concluded that they were. Others could speak to you at greater length about everything that preceded and led up to the decision to choose the exam.

Official Languages committee  That's unfortunately not within the jurisdiction of the commissioner's office. We conducted an investigation under our act and issued our findings. If the exam were prepared in Canada, and there were equal resources in English and French, there wouldn't be a non-compliant situation in New Brunswick or in other provinces.

Official Languages committee  I think the association will have to find that the exam in question doesn't meet the requirements of the act because the resources available in the market are in English. Furthermore, as is the case of the exams of many other professions in New Brunswick, such as the bar exam, the exam is prepared in New Brunswick.

Official Languages committee  Yes.