Poste - Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children

C A N A D I A N C O A L I T I O N F O R T H E R I G H T S O F C H I L D R E N
In its 1997 report on the UNESCO Convention and the
Recommendation Against Discrimination in Education,
the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada,
recommended:
• inclusion of the study of citizenship to better
promote the understanding of others;
• strict adherence to bias-free teaching materials;
and
• emphasis not simply on open access but on barrierfree
learning environments to embrace the right of
all to equally benefit from education. 53
Language Instruction
Canada has two official languages: English and French.
In 1996-1997, approximately 2.8 million students were
in French or English second-language programs. 54 The
federal government supports official language
education and bilingualism for young Canadians with
the Official Languages in Education Program. Each
year, 7,000 students participate in language exchange
programs and travel to other parts of the country to
learn their second official language. 55 The federal
government also funds projects that promote innovative
approaches and resource development for teaching
official languages. 56
In some elementary and secondary schools, instruction
is offered in other languages such as German,
Ukrainian, Italian, Mandarin, Hindi and Punjabi. For
example, in British Columbia, more than 3,300
students were enrolled in Mandarin classes in 1996;
Nova Scotia offers Mi’kmaq and Gaelic at the high
school level; and there are over 1,100 students in the
Yukon studying one of eight Aboriginal languages in
regular school programming. 57
Minority Language Instruction
The majority of students take their school courses in
English or French. Publicly-funded schooling in either
language is guaranteed under section 23 of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms “where
numbers warrant it,” and this is decided on a case-bycase
basis.
The Charter right to minority language education has
not yet been fully implemented across the country.
Canada’s Commissioner of Official Languages has
expressed concern that parents have to resort to costly
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Case law
In Mahé v. Alberta, 58 the Supreme Court held that
section 23 of the Charter guarantees management
and control of instruction and facilities by members
of the language minority. 59 A number of factors
have to be considered in the “numbers warrant”
test, but there must be a balancing of parents’ rights
under section 23 against the students’ rights to a
normal childhood, “without the intervention of
unusual compulsory transportation obligations.” 60
In another case, Reference Re Education Act of
Ontario and Minority Language Education Rights
(1984), the court held that minority language rights
belong to children of French-speaking citizens if
they received their primary school education in
French (even if they no longer speak the language)
and if a child is receiving or has received instruction
in French. In addition, the court held that the
minority language rights apply in both
denominational and non-denominational schools. 61
Voices
I have lived in the Halifax area since I was
seven years old. Most of the population
here speaks English. Only five percent of the
300,000 people who live here are
Francophones. Learning in French has many
disadvantages in my area. Some may laugh
but school transportation discourages many
from studying in French. We have serious
overpopulation at our school. It was built for
600 students but has to accommodate 910 of
us. (translation)
—Serge, aged 17, Nova Scotia62 legal action against public educational authorities. 63 A
number of recent cases in British Columbia, Ontario,
Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Manitoba and
Saskatchewan demonstrates that the right to a separate
school facility and a separate school system for minority
language instruction is still not well established. 64
According to legal experts Hurlbert and Hurlbert, the
rights of linguistic minorities are being neglected and
treated inconsistently across the country. 65