NANB Receives Closure from the Office of the Commissioner on Official Languages

January 28, 2019

After continued dialogue with Michel Carrier since being appointed interim Official Languages
Commissioner in September of 2018, the Nurses Association of New Brunswick (NANB) is pleased to
have received official closure on the Investigative Report issued last May from the Office of the
Commissioner on Official Languages (OCOL).

NANB provided its formal response to the Investigative Report, along with a detailed Table outlining
inaccuracies. This Response provided a description of the NCLEX-RN translation and adaptation
process, confirming that the NCLEX-RN examination provider meets all provincial and national
standards for translation of a high-stakes exam from English to French. All NCLEX-RN exam questions
were and continue to be reviewed by panels of Canadian nurse educators, practising nurses, new
registered nurse and nurse regulatory staff who speak French as their primary language. This step
assures adaptation of the exam content and is recognized as best practice in exam development.
NANB is committed to ensuring that this high quality of translation and adaptation be maintained in
the future.

Earlier this month, the OCOL concluded that overall the NCLEX-RN exam questions were well
translated and that the quality of the translation did not violate Section 41.1 of the Official Languages
Act. In addition, NANB was recognized by the OCOL for measures taken to increase the availability of
preparatory study resources and were encouraged to continue in this direction. The OCOL also stated
they consider this matter closed.

Enclosed you will find copies of NANB’s Official Response and Table, as well as the Office of the
Commissioner on Official Languages final correspondence dated January 10, 2019.
At this time, NANB cannot comment further.

Click here for the original press release.