[Translation] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week we received new rulings from the Supreme Court, which were submitted on June the 1st. The French rights are in the federal law and Francophones in the Northwest Territories have fought for many years to obtain equal school access identical to what their English colleagues get... [Translation ends]
…through a Supreme Court decisions regarding French language schooling in the NWT, decisions rendered on June 1st of this year.
French language rights are protected in federal law and NWT Francophones have been fighting for years to get school facilities on par with their Anglophone counterparts. One decision forces the GNWT to expand both Francophone schools, Ecole Boreale in Hay River and Ecole Allain St-Cyr in Yellowknife. Ecole Boreale to accommodate 160 students and Ecole Allain St-Cyr to accommodate 250 students. It all must be done by September of 2015. Needless to say, the Commission Scolaire Francophone Territoires du Nord-ouest is very happy.
This ruling has huge implications, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT, in three years’ time, must have completed the infrastructure enhancements ordered by the judge. Considering the time frame alone, never mind the cost, it’s a daunting task. And the cost will be significant. At minimum, four specialist classrooms and a gymnasium are required. How this government will fit that expense into our minimal capital budgets over the next two years remains to be seen.
My own view is that the judge was somewhat overzealous with the schedule in their decision, but then the GNWT has been ignoring a previous judgment directing the GNWT to expand Ecole Allain St-Cyr for some 10 years. So maybe this is payback in the court’s view.
My hope is that the Commission Scolaire Francophone and the GNWT can sit down together and discuss and agree to realistic construction timelines. The work must be started immediately, no question about that, but completion by 2015 could be hard to achieve. There must be a willingness to move ahead, but with some consideration for flexibility.
It would be the best if all of our Aboriginal languages had the same rights under the law as the Francophone minority does. Maybe in time we will get there. For now, our government must accept the rulings and move ahead. Merci, monsieur.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
