Halifax signs agreement with parent who complained about French school funding

HALIFAX – The Halifax Regional Municipality says it has signed an agreement with an Acadian parent who had filed a human rights complaint over the absence of supplementary education funding for the municipality’s French-language school board.

The agreement with Lucien Comeau comes as a result of a restorative board of inquiry process through the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.

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Mayor Mike Savage says the agreement will go a long way toward restoring and building the municipality’s relationship with the broader francophone community.

Comeau filed a human rights complaint with the Commission in 2003, alleging discrimination because funds the municipality collected for programs like music and art were given only to English-speaking schools operated by the Halifax Regional School Board.

The municipality resolved the funding issue in 2006 with the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial, which is the board responsible for French-speaking schools in the Halifax region.

Under today’s agreement the municipality will contribute $75,000 to programs supporting students studying French at the secondary and post-secondary level and has committed to continue work in linguistic and cultural development.