Inadequate schools for Francophone students in Vancouver’s west side: court

VANCOUVER – A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled Francophone students living on the west side of Vancouver who want to study in French don’t have access to the same quality of school facilities as their Anglophone peers.

Judge Peter Willcock does not say what should be done about the disparity between French and English schools in the area, located west of the city’s Main Street, leaving it up to the province and the local school board to address it.

The case was launched by parents who allege the French school board and the provincial government are violating their minority language rights because the only Francophone school in their area is inadequate, especially compared with nearby English schools.

In his ruling, Willcock says the Francophone school is not equivalent to English schools, because it is cramped and over capacity, requires some students to take long bus rides and puts elementary and secondary students together.

The school board actually supported the parents in the lawsuit, arguing a lack of provincial funding is to blame, and it is currently fighting its own lawsuit against the government that stretches across B.C.

A spokesman for B.C.’s Education Ministry says the government is reviewing the decision.