Canada’s top court spent Thursday grappling with whether the Constitution requires New Brunswick’s lieutenant-governor to be bilingual — and what will happen if the answer turns out to be yes.

Lawyers for the Acadian Society of New Brunswick argued that the position is subject to language-equality provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and that the 2019 appointment of Brenda Murphy violated those guarantees.

“The lieutenant-governor personifies the state,” lawyer Gabriel Poliquin told the nine justices of the Supreme Court of Canada.

The court did not rule Thursday and did not give a date on when it would make its decision.

Comments and questions from several of the justices, including Chief Justice Richard Wagner, suggested they were open to the Acadian society’s argument.

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