Without a French-speaking secondary school, parents in Ottawa have filed a legal action against the Ontario government. They believe that their linguistic rights are not respected, and demand a “firm commitment” and quickly.
“If you had told me that one day I would be going to court so that my children had access to education in French, where I live, I think I would have fallen out of my chair », says to Duty one of the three applicants, Patrick Clermont.
Mr. Clermont and two other members of the steering committee of the Community Regroupment for a French-language secondary school in Ottawa Center sent a formal notice on April 23 to the Ontario Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce. With no response from him, they signed a month later, last Thursday, a notice of motion, summoning Mr. Lecce and the Eastern Ontario Public Schools Council (CEPEO).
The applicants judge that the absence of a French-language secondary school in the Ottawa Center sector is a “violation” of section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The latter constitutionally guarantees the right to education in the language of the minority and obliges the provinces to finance schools if a sufficient number of students justifies it.
However, the group claims that at least 1,655 children aged 12 to 17, whose parents are rights holders, live in the area. “We can really demonstrate in a very objective way that there is a real need and that if this school were built, the students would follow very quickly,” insists Mr. Clermont.
A “missing link”
According to the father, it is “one minute to midnight” to fill this “missing link”. “The case law is very clear that with Article 23, we must act in a timely manner, because childhood only lasts as long as it lasts,” says the applicants’ lawyer, Mr.e David Taylor.
“We are not heading towards a big trial as we have seen in certain corners of the country”, he explains, hoping that the approach will allow “anchor(r)” the decision to finance the project “in the Constitution” by departing “from the considerations of politicians”.
Residents of the area, which includes the Glebe, Westboro, Little Italy, and LeBreton Plains neighborhoods, can enroll their children in four French-language elementary schools. On the other hand, the options are zero in secondary education, and the schools located in “neighboring areas are far away and very full,” writes the group in its formal notice. Students therefore often end up heading to one of the seven English-speaking establishments in the area.
“A homogeneous French-speaking school, it has a dual mission, that of education in French, but it is also one linked to culture, which is very important,” explains Mr. Clermont. “Each cohort that leaves the 6e year is equivalent to a loss of children in the French-language system,” deplores Jennifer Larocque, also a member of the group’s steering committee.
“We absolutely need a response this year,” she says, emphasizing that funding is “only the first step in a process that can last for years.” Created in 2019, the group, which resumed its activity in 2022 after a break marked by the pandemic, hopes that a new public school will open its doors by 2028.
Firm commitment
“What we are looking for is a firm commitment from both parties within a specific timetable,” says M.me Larocque. “We all have children who will have to go to that high school. We would really like to be able to see them go to school in their neighborhood, in their community, in French. »
Even if the group recognizes that the CEPEO “did its part” by asking the ministry “to support the construction” of the establishment, Mr. Clermont believes that the Council presents “nothing concrete”. For its part, the CEPEO maintains that “the issue of the downtown high school remains a priority,” but refuses to comment since it is a legal issue.
Contacted by The duty, the spokesperson for Minister Lecce, Isha Chaudhuri, writes – only in English – that the government “is committed to protecting and developing education in the French language throughout the province”, referring in particular to the envelope of $1.3 billion announced in the 2024 Ontario budget for the construction of new schools. But Mr. Clermont fears that this “incredible window of opportunity” is closing.
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.