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Fort Smith Parents Fight for French Education Program in northwest Territories
Fort Smith,Northwest Territories – A Group Of Determined Parents In Fort Smith Is Taking Legal Action To Fight For The Establishment Of A French Language Education Program For Their Children.This comes After The Government Of The Northwest Territories Denied Their Request, Citing Insufficient Student Numbers.The Parents Argue That Access to French Education Is A Linguistic Right And Essential For Preserving Their Community’s Cultural Identity.
Geneviève Côté And Renée Rodgers, Two Mothers Leading The charge, Each Have A Five-Year-Old Child Currently Enrolled In English Pre-Kindergarten.They’ve Noticed An Increasing shift Among Their Children Speaking English Together, Even At Home. “Now Samuel And Chloé Speak Together In English… They Are Completely French-Speaking, But they Talk To Each Other And Play In English. It’s Weird,” Said Geneviève Côté. She Highlights Concerns About Growing Assimilation.
The Push For French Education In Fort smith
As 2023, A Group Of Parents Has Been Working To Establish A French First Language Program In Fort Smith, A Community Of Roughly 2,450 people Near The Alberta Border. “We Would Like To Have Access To What The Majority Has Access to primary School, But We Are Ready To Work With What Is in Town. We Are Not Asking To Build A Brand New School Now,” Explained One Of The Parents.
Renée Rodgers Emphasized The Importance Of Linguistic Rights: “we Are Convinced That We Have Linguistic Rights That We Can Assert And Implement.We Think It’s Justifiable To Have A Program.”
Demographic Data & projected Enrollment
According To The 2021 Census Data, Approximately fifty Children Of Rights Holders In The Region Are Eligible For Instruction In French. Parents Believe That A Dozen Children Could Initially Enroll, Potentially Growing To twenty Within Three Years.
“It’s Really Notable For Us To Have A Place Where [Les Enfants] Can Express Themselves In French And Where People Around Them Are Also Expressed In French And School Is The Ideal Place For That,” indicated Renée Rodgers.
Government Rejection & Legal Recourse
Despite A Meeting Deemed “Positive” In February, The Territorial government Rejected The Parents’ Request In Late march. minister Of Education Caitlin Cleveland Stated In A letter Dated March 28, “The Estimated Number Of Rights Holders In The community Is Below The Threshold Required by Article 23 [De La Charte Canadienne Des Droits Et Libertés] For The Implementation Of A teaching Program In French Language First to Fort Smith.”
She Added, “I Understand That This Decision Can Be Disappointing, But Without The Obligation Provided For In Article 23 Of the Charter, I Am Unable To Support The implementation Of A Teaching Program In French First Language For The Moment.” She Indicated That There Is No Evidence Suggesting A Future Increase In Eligible Children That Would Obligate The Government To Establish The Program.
Parallels With Other Schools
The Government Refuted Parents’ Comparisons To Other Schools In The Territory With small Student Populations, Such As the Kakisa Lake School (Four Students) And The Jean Wetrade Gamèti School (58 Students). Caitlin Cleveland Argued That These schools Provide Access To Education That Would Otherwise Be Unavailable, Unlike The Situation For Rights-Holder Children in Fort Smith.
