A delay by the federal government in appointing a new lieutenant-governor for New Brunswick is creating a logjam of unfinished business for the provincial government.
Lt.-Gov. Jocelyne Roy Vienneau, the first Acadian woman to hold the office, died Aug. 2 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
READ MORE: Funeral for New Brunswick Lt.-Gov. Jocelyne Roy Vienneau held Thursday
Important government business, including providing royal assent to bills, can’t be completed until the lieutenant governor signs an order-in-council.
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says the delay is holding up some business.
“We have orders-in-council that we aren’t able to pass through the system because they have to be approved by the (lieutenant-governor). We have a bit of a backlog. Some of them are more time sensitive than others,” Higgs said Thursday.
“At this point I would say we’re managing the sensitivity in time … but the longer this goes on, the more of a backlog we get, and the more time constraints become a challenge.”
WATCH: N.B. RCMP investigating ‘financial irregularities’ in Lt.-Gov’s office
Lieutenant-governors are appointed by the prime minister, but a spokesperson for his office said Thursday that there was nothing to announce yet.
When Saskatchewan Lt.-Gov. Thomas Molloy died in July, Russell Mirasty was appointed as a replacement just 15 days later.
READ MORE: N.B. lieutenant-governor Jocelyne Roy Vienneau dies after battle with cancer
Roy Vienneau was appointed by former prime minister Stephen Harper in 2014.
Lieutenant-governors usually serve for a term of at least five years.
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