The case of whether the provincial government is required to provide separate buses for French and English language schools is before the New Brunswick Court of Appeal.

New Brunswick Education Minister and Attorney General Serge Rousselle said last spring that his staff believes separate bus systems are required in the province.

Now the court is examining whether the province has a constitutional obligation to provide separate school bus services for French and English schools.

The Constitution guarantees English and French schools in New Brunswick, but there has been a fierce debate over whether that extends to bus service.

Opponents say dual bus service adds unnecessary costs for a cash-strapped province, but the province's Acadian population is fighting to define its rights as broadly as possible. 

Recently, a number of residents told pre-budget hearings that if the province wants to cut costs, it should look at what’s being spent on official bilingualism.”

“I think as a province, the people of New Brunswick have gotten to a point now, they want to discuss this,” said Kris Austin, leader of the People’s Alliance of New Brunswick.

“We’re not going to sit in the shadows any longer and hear the whispers of the unfairness of language policy today. That goes for Anglophone and Francophone alike.”

Chief Justice Ernest Drapeau had questions for Rouselle, saying the attorney general will have to come back and argue both sides of the case since he's not supposed to take sides.

"Is the attorney general not supposed to be independent of the government and is he not, because of that independence, duty bound to present all arguments both pro and con the position of the government?" said Drapeau.

Rousselle's lawyer Andre Richard calls presenting both sides unusual.

"What we will need to do is truly reflect upon the invitation that the chief justice has made, and we will respond in written form."

The hearings will continue May 24 and 25, at which time the court will hear from intervenors in the case.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Brown and The Canadian Press