N.B. premier should scrap French immersion reform and reopen registration: Opposition

New Brunswick Education Minister Bill Hogan listens to people seated at a table at the Delta Fredericton on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, during a public consultation for the government's proposed French immersion program scheduled to be introduced this fall. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Hina Alam

New Brunswick's Opposition is calling on the government to scrap the proposed French-language reform scheduled for schools in the fall.

The Liberals say the government should instead reopen French immersion registration for the upcoming school year, following public criticism to Premier Blaine Higgs's plan.

The Progressive Conservative government has proposed to cut to 50 per cent from 90 per cent the time kindergarten and elementary students learn in French each day.

The official Opposition wants the government to table a plan to properly resource the education system, after it says Liberal caucus members heard how passionately people feel about the French immersion system.

Following intense criticism, Higgs this week said his plan "was never a sure thing" and that he would wait for recommendations from the Education Department before deciding what to do about the fall semester.

The Opposition says Higgs's reform is misguided with neither enough time nor teachers to develop the curriculum and teach it.

Green Party Leader David Coon is also asking the government to reopen French immersion registration for the fall.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2023.