Bilingual Power of Attorney in New Brunswick

Canada's Only Officially Bilingual Province

Under Section 16(2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, New Brunswick is the sole Canadian province where English and French share equal constitutional standing. That's not a symbolic gesture — it has concrete implications for anyone setting up or acting under a power of attorney.

Every statutory planning form, court application, and government service must be available in both languages. You have a constitutional right to file documents and receive responses in whichever official language you prefer. And if a capacity dispute reaches the Court of King's Bench, you can demand the hearing be conducted in English or French.

What Bilingualism Means for Your EPA

The practical impact of New Brunswick's bilingual status on enduring powers of attorney breaks down into three areas:

Drafting the Document

Your EPA can be drafted in English, French, or both. If you're working with a lawyer — which is mandatory for any EPA that includes property powers — the lawyer must be able to explain the terms in the language you're most comfortable with. The Law Society of New Brunswick maintains a directory of francophone practitioners across the province.

For families where the grantor speaks primarily French but the appointed attorney operates mainly in English (or vice versa), having a bilingual document avoids confusion about the scope of powers. The key terms — "attorney for property," "attorney for personal care," "enduring," "springing" — all have precise French equivalents under the Enduring Powers of Attorney Act (Loi sur les procurations durables).

Filing with Government Agencies

When an attorney acts under an EPA, they interact with bilingual provincial systems:

• Service New Brunswick Land Registry accepts filings in either language through the PLANET system. The $85 registration fee per parcel applies regardless of the language used.
• Court of King's Bench processes all SDMRA applications (Form 71.1A, Form 3 Capacity Assessment, Form 2 Financial Summary) in both languages. Forms are available bilingual by default.
• The Public Trustee's office accepts its Application for Adult Services (Form 03) in either language.

Dealing with Financial Institutions

This is where bilingualism gets practical. The major banks (RBC, TD, BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC) all operate bilingual branches across New Brunswick, but their internal compliance teams that review POA documents are often centralized in Toronto or Montreal. A francophone attorney presenting a French-language EPA at an anglophone-heavy compliance desk can face additional processing delays — not because the document is invalid, but because the reviewer needs a translated version for their files.

One way to avoid this friction: have the lawyer prepare the EPA as a bilingual document with both English and French text on the same pages. Banks are more likely to accept a bilingual original than to deal with a standalone French document plus an unofficial translation.

Court Proceedings in Your Language

If a capacity dispute, contested representation order, or challenge to an EPA reaches the Court of King's Bench, New Brunswick's Official Languages Act guarantees that:

• You can file all documents in either official language
• You can testify and present evidence in either language
• The judge must be able to hear the case in your chosen language (or through simultaneous interpretation)
• The court order will be issued in the language of the proceedings

This right is particularly important in contested SDMRA applications. The 20-day objection window under Rule 71.1 runs from the date of service — if documents are served in a language the respondent doesn't understand, they may have grounds to argue improper service and reset the clock.

Common Mistakes with Bilingual Documents

Using inconsistent terminology. The French and English versions of an EPA must grant identical powers. If the English text says the attorney can sell real property but the French text uses a narrower term, a registry office may reject the transaction.

Assuming bilingual means dual-valid. A bilingual EPA is one document with two language versions. It still needs to meet the same execution requirements — signed before a New Brunswick lawyer for property powers, or two witnesses for personal care. You don't need to sign twice or get separate witnessing for each language.

Ignoring language preferences in healthcare directives. An attorney for personal care may need to communicate treatment decisions to francophone medical staff in northern New Brunswick (Edmundston, Bathurst, Campbellton) or anglophone staff in the south (Saint John, Fredericton). Making sure the personal care EPA includes clear treatment instructions in both languages prevents misunderstandings during medical emergencies.

Building a Bilingual Planning Package

A complete bilingual planning package for a New Brunswick family typically includes:

1. A bilingual EPA for property (mandatory lawyer execution)
2. A bilingual EPA for personal care (lawyer or two witnesses)
3. Treatment instructions in both languages, attached to or incorporated in the personal care EPA
4. Copies distributed to the attorney, financial institutions, and the grantor's primary care physician — in whichever language each institution prefers

The New Brunswick Power of Attorney Kit provides structured worksheets that work in both English and French administrative contexts, along with filing guides for every bilingual registry and court office you'll interact with during the EPA setup and activation process.

See more New Brunswick guides →