New Brunswick party leaders clash over bilingualism at second televised debate
FREDERICTON — New Brunswick party leaders clashed over language in their second televised debate Friday night, debating whether the premier of Canada’s only officially bilingual province needs to speak both French and English.
“I agree (bilingualism) is a very important skill. It’s not the only skill you need to bring to the premier’s office,” said Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs, who isn’t fluent in French.
“We’ve seen that we need more than that in order to fix our province.”
Higgs, Liberal Premier Brian Gallant and the other party leaders squared off on a community centre stage in Fredericton in a 90-minute debate carried on Rogers TV.