Parent group welcomes N.B. premier statement that French immersion reform uncertain
A New Brunswick parent group is welcoming a statement by the premier that the government's proposed reform to the French immersion program in schools "was never a sure thing."
Chris Collins, executive director for the New Brunswick chapter of Canadian Parents for French, said it is encouraging to see Premier Blaine Higgs soften his stance.
"We're very encouraged by it, but we're not popping the champagne corks at this point," Collins said Wednesday night.
"The people in New Brunswick have spoken very clearly on this, and they want the government of New Brunswick to back down. And we hope that happens in the next little while."
Higgs told reporters Wednesday his government's plans to reform French immersion weren't concrete and that he would make a decision based on recommendations from the Education Department. The proposed changes are to be implemented in the fall and would see kindergarten and elementary students spend half the day learning in French -- down from the current 90 per cent of the day.
"It never was a sure thing," Higgs said. "If it was, there wouldn't have been much point in having consultations. It was a proposal to say 'is there another way that we can actually achieve better success?"'
The government has said the goal of its reforms is to ensure all graduates in the anglophone sector have at least a "conversational level" of French. The province prides itself on being the only officially bilingual province in Canada but has lamented how most of its anglophone graduates can't speak French.
The government recently held a series of public consultations on its proposed changes, including one meeting last month in the capital during which almost all who spoke out criticized the plan.
At the public consultation session in Fredericton, Education Minister Bill Hogan said the government would gather data and make recommendations, which would be shared "as soon as we can."
Higgs said Wednesday he was looking forward to the recommendations. "We heard lots of comments. Lots of information was shared and I think the minister and deputy and the department are evaluating all that now."
"I haven't had a final proposal or a suggestion of next steps. The minister and I, and department folks, will meet on that and obviously there will be likely further discussions amongst the cabinet and caucus and then we'll decide based on the recommendations."
Collins said French immersion in the province can be improved by attracting more teachers, which he said would make the program available to more students.
One of the parents at the Fredericton consultations said he was worried the government would claim a silent majority was in favour of changing French immersion -- despite the vocal opposition. Hogan, after the session, did not answer reporters' questions about what proportion of residents he thought were in favour of the new program.
Collins said it would be "political suicide" if the government continued with its proposed French immersion model.
"There is no silent majority here. This is just plain clarity of expression," he said. "The people of New Brunswick want to keep French immersion just like they have in all other provinces in Canada."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 2, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.