A precedent-setting judgment from the B.C. Supreme Court has given the francophone school board and parents a chance to improve education for their children.
The francophone school board (Conseil scolaire francophone or CSF) and the Francophone Parents of B.C. went to court to get more funding for infrastructure and transportation in British Columbia.
After two years in court, a 1,600-page judgment – considered to be one of the longest in the court’s history – was delivered. The ruling awarded more money for school bus service as well as a new funding model.
“In Quebec, anglophones there have a right to publicly funded K-12 instruction. In B.C. the same thing applies but for the benefit of francophones,” lawyer Mark Power said.
There are 5,700 francophone students in British Columbia and the school district says the number is growing. Both the francophone school board and parents federation argued the underfunding was contrary to Section 23 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“We’re teaching the identity, the francophone identity, it’s not just the question of language and basically we want our kids to identify themselves to the francophone culture,” CSF Board Chair Marie-France Lapierre said.
The judgment does set a precedent, but it is only a partial victory. Just four of the 22 schools they wanted infrastructure help for will be built or replaced.
What is considered to be a victory is that the funding model has been changed they’ll have their own capital stream.
- ‘Targeted’ Kamloops shooting leaves 1 in hospital, suspect at large
- March drug deaths down 11% over last year as B.C. records 192 fatalities
- All London Drugs stores in Western Canada expected to reopen Tuesday following cyberattack
- Protesters outside B.C. court as Nijjar murder suspects make brief appearance
“We’re very happy that the system is going to change so we’re not going to have to go to court to ask for a new school when we need the new schools – so that is a big game changer,” Marie-Pierre Lavoie of the BC Francophone Parents Federation said.
In a statement, the Ministry of Education said:
“We just received the judgment and will be reviewing it. We will have no further comment until that review is complete.”
In the meantime, the ruling gives $6 million to put towards transportation since most of the schools are regional. As for the rest of the funding, there is no amount given and no indication if an appeal will be launched.
– With files from Jennifer Palma
Comments