New Brunswick being the only bilingual province in Canada has long been one of its most notable facts. Featuring communities that speak predominantly English as well as those primarily using French.
However, a divide between these two types of communities that have linguistic differences has made the move to the eastern Canadian province more daunting for newcomers.
Navigating between the figurative barrier that separates the communities is an unfair demand for newcomers.
Immigrants who already face the difficulties of finding employment, affordable housing and cultural diversity may also be tasked with decisions that affect their whole family.
Myriam Mekni, the Executive Director at the Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area was a speaker at the second episode of the strong province speaker series and noted an issue that many immigrant parents face.
“The agony of choosing whether their children will go to French or English school,” she said.
Evidently, there isn’t necessarily a definitively right choice, but children put in the wrong situation can experience exclusion, isolation, stress and poor school marks.
Mekni says that while she lacks a clear idea of how New Brunswick will grow together to eliminate these issues, she knows that bringing more people to the community is a driver for economic and demographic growth.
