N.L. and N.S. offshore petroleum boards should release info in French: federal report

The boards regulating the offshore industry in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labradorshouldhave all forms of communication available inFrench, according to apreliminary report from the official languages commissioner.

The two boardsthe Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board and theCanada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board need to adhere to theofficial language law because they work on behalf of the federal government, says the report.

Commissioner Raymond Thbergehas suggestedthe agencies implement the changes within 18 months from the publication of his final report. But the recommendations are suggestions only and are non-binding.

He also recommended thewebsites of both boards betranslated into French within a year of his final report being published.

The two boards issue exploration and drilling licences to companies operating off the coasts of Nova Scotia andNewfoundland and Labrador, and some parts of the St. Lawrence Gulf, but French services are scarce.

On the C-NLOPB and the C-NSOPB websites, only a few documents are written in French. In the case of the C-NLOPB, phone services are provided only in English.

Four complaints against Natural Resources Canada have been submitted to the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages since 2016

People 'have the right to be informed'

'"Francophones in Newfoundland but also around New-Brunswick, Gasp, Madeline Island and Prince Edward Island are directly impacted by the offshore projects regulated by the board," saidSylvain Archambault, a spokesperson for the St. Lawrence Coalition, a collective of environmental organizations that has been dealing with the C-NLOPB since 2010.

'"They have the right to be informed correctly about the activities of the C-NLOPB and about the undergoing projects that could affect them," he added.

'"We are thinking here about the people in the tourism industry, fisherman, indigenous nations that speak mostly French, like the Innus and the Maliseet communities."

No English info would be 'national scandal': Former MP

Former Acadie-Bathurst MP Yvon Godin previously reported the issue back in 2013 to Natural Resources Canada.

He's disappointed that nothing has changed since then and says the timelines to implement the changes are too lenient.

"The official language commissioner is the watchdog for official languages, but I find he gives too much time to the boards to fix the damages that has been done to the francophones,"he said.

"Imagine if it has been a complaint about a service that wasn't given in English. I think it wouldn't have taken that much time for the problem to be fixed it would almost be a national scandal,"he adds.

In a statement to Radio-Canada,C-NLOPB CEO Scott Tessierdeclined further comment on thepreliminary report, saying it would be inappropriate. Tessier, however, wrote that the C-NLOPB understands the spirit of Canada's official linguistic duality and the importance of measures that help serve the public in their language of choice.

The C-NSOPB declined to comment on the preliminary report, and Natural Resources Canada didn't respond tointerview requests from Radio-Canada.

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