English access denied

Despite bilingual education in Ottawa, kids forced to attend French school

When Edwidge Casimir moved to Montreal this summer, she never imagined her two children would be denied access to an English school.

After all, when she lived in Ottawa, her daughter, Shanning Edouard, 8, completed Grades 1 and 2 in an English school run by an English school board. And under Quebec law, if she could go to English school, so could her 5-year-old brother, Edwin Edouard.

But yesterday, Casimir was told that her children will have to leave St. Dorothy School in Montreal and enroll in a French school. And all because when Shanning went to school in Ottawa, half her classes were given in English and half in French.

Raises Tough Questions

“This bothers me because the kids were in a bilingual school in Ottawa, so I wanted them to go to one here,” said Casimir, who was born in Haiti, but is a Canadian citizen. “If I had known I would be put through this, I would have stayed in Ottawa.”

It’s a case that raises tough questions about Quebec’s French Language Charter, which doesn’t distinguish between the French taught in English-sector bilingual programs and the instruction offered in French schools.

Under the charter, Shanning, the daughter of a Canadian, would have the right to attend English school in Quebec under one condition – that the majority of her schooling in another Canadian province was in English.

Doesn’t Meet Criterion

Diane Robillard, the Education Department official designated to hear English-eligibility cases, wrote that Shanning doesn’t meet this criterion. That’s because, even though she was enrolled in an English school in Ottawa, half of Shanning’s instruction was given in French.

“It (bilingual education in English schools) isn’t spelled out in black and white in the law,” said Martin St-Louis, an aide to Education Minister Francois Legault. “(Robillard) is interpreting the law, based on the criterion.”

Lawyer Brent Tyler, however, argues that Robillard’s decision violates Casimir’s right to send her children to English school under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. On Monday, Tyler plans to ask Quebec Superior Court for an injunction allowing Shanning and Edwin to stay at St. Dorothy.

Although legally, Casimir has the right to appeal Robillard’s decision to a review body, her children are still required to switch schools on Monday.

“We would have to abide by the ruling that’s made,” said Michael Cohen, spokesman for the English Montreal School Board.

Tyler argued that Shanning did the majority of her schooling in English and shouldn’t be penalized for taking advantage of a language program enjoyed by many English Montrealers.

“She shouldn’t be penalized for wanting a bilingual education,” Tyler said. “She shouldn’t be penalized for pursuing a Canadian dream.”

Although Casimir speaks French at home with her children, she said she would rather move back to Ottawa than send them to a French school.

“I’m francophone, but I feel the English language is very important.”



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