HALIFAX—Nova Scotia’s justice minister says despite intervening in a Supreme Court case in which the B.C. government argues that limitations for minority language education rights are reasonable, the province remains committed to meeting francophone schooling needs.

B.C.’s francophone school board and a francophone parents organization allege that the B.C. government has infringed on Canadian charter rights by underfunding French schools, and the case is now before the Supreme Court of Canada.

The government of Nova Scotia — along with the governments of Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta and the Northwest Territories — has attached itself to the case as an intervener.

Each province takes a slightly different position, but Nova Scotia aligned itself entirely with the B.C. government. In a Sept. 12 submission to the court, Nova Scotia adopted and repeated B.C.’s arguments.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ says minority language communities are entitled to public education of an “equivalent” standard to that of the linguistic majority, which the B.C. government says it delivered through the lens of “proportionality.”

Mark Furey, Nova Scotia’s justice minister and attorney general, says Nova Scotia has always applied a proportional model in French public education, which it is looking to protect.

“The model that we apply now in Nova Scotia is really the argument that B.C. is advancing,” Furey told reporters at Province House Tuesday.

He said Nova Scotia is intervening in the case “really to be aware of the circumstances,” because of the potential for setting a constitutional precedent.

“It’s important that Nova Scotia is at the table and certainly familiar with the discussion, the debate and the outcomes.”

Andrea Burke-Saulnier, department head for educational sciences at the Université Sainte-Anne, said as a French educator and researcher she was “discouraged” by the Nova Scotia’s position in the case.

“I fear that it’s creating a precedent,” Burke-Saulnier said, a precedent of majority anglophone governments making decisions that diminish the importance of the French language and francophone identity.

Burke-Saulnier said the vitality of minority linguistic communities is measured, in part, by their control over institutions. The Supreme Court case against the B.C. government, she said, demonstrates a lack of control for the francophone population in that province.

“Francophone schools … anywhere in Canada that are outside of Quebec, they have a double mandate. They are to not only build knowledge but also to construct identities. Because if you don’t have an identity with the French language, then chances are you could fall victim to linguistic assimilation.”

She said the B.C. court case signals to French youth that “their language isn’t as important as the language of the majority.”

On Monday, Nova Scotia Education Minister Zach Churchill announced a $28.5 million investment in a new French school in Halifax. The province purchased a building that housed the former Newbridge Academy private school and plans to renovate it for the 2020 school year.

Furey said that announcement indicated the province’s commitment to French education.

Burke-Saulnier said despite being discouraged by the province’s support of the B.C. government’s position on minority language education rights, she appreciated the “acknowledgment” of francophone education through investments in school infrastructure.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Stephanie Comeau, a spokesperson for Nova Scotia’s francophone school board, the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial (CSAP), said the CSAP was “closely monitoring” the Supreme Court case.

“We strongly agree that the respect for the Francophone minority is essential for the sustainability of our Acadian and francophone communities in Nova Scotia,” Comeau said in a phone interview.

She wouldn’t say what outcome CSAP favoured.

Read more about: