Senate report urges more support, schools for French education in B.C.
VICTORIA — British Columbia needs to build more French-only schools and increase access to French language education to support the province’s Francophone community and prevent children from losing their linguistic birthright, says a Senate report.
The report by the Senate committee on official languages says the federal government is not assuming its leadership role to ensure access to French first-language or French second-language education in B.C.
“It is essential for the federal government, with the support of its provincial counterpart, to oversee the implementation of constitutionally-guaranteed rights by ensuring citizen’s access to French first-language education, from early childhood to post secondary,” says the report.
The report, Horizon 2018: Toward Stronger Support of French-language Learning in B.C., makes 17 recommendations for the federal government and says parents have the constitutional right to have their children educated in French, but there are too few schools and they are overcrowded.