French-language educators worried about losing voice

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/11/2017 (2897 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An alliance of Manitoba educators and parents accused the provincial government Monday of cutting French-language education services.

Bernard Lesage, school board chairman of the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine (DSFM), told a news conference Monday word has spread in the last three weeks that there is no longer an assistant deputy education minister for French-language education.

“For the past two to three weeks, I’ve been getting phone calls — we don’t have an ADM anymore,” he said.

Other staff in the Bureau de l’éducation française (BEF) within the department of education have been transferred to other jobs in English-language education, and some vacancies have not been filled, Lesage said.

Education Minister Ian Wishart acknowledged through an aide Monday the former ADM is now working as a special adviser, but insisted not only has French-language education support not been cut, but the government has ­increased it this year.

Funding for the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine increased 4.2 per cent this year, Wishart said, adding he intends to meet soon with stakeholder groups. The DSFM has about 5,500 students.

“Bureau de l’éducation française continues to provide the same quality of service with the same level of funding. We understand the importance of Francophone education and supporting a school system that builds upon the strong cultural connections that exist in our communities,” Wishart said through his aide.

Lesage said his group is much more concerned about losing people than the dollar figures involved.

“It’s very difficult to give you a dollar figure. The budget obviously went down,” he said.

“We’re asking for a quick restoration of funding and resources to the BEF,” said Brigitte L’heureux, executive director of the Fédération des Parents du Manitoba.

The assistant deputy education ­minister dealt directly with the needs of 30,000 kindergarten to Grade 12 children studying in French, and took those needs to the decision-makers, she said.

“Parents and other stakeholders have lost their voice at the table. The Manitoba government doesn’t fully understand francophone and French-immersion education. We find this inexplicable, and incredibly concerning,” L’heureux said.

The group, which includes the Manitoba Teachers’ Society (MTS), Société de la francophonie manitobaine and several others, has not yet contacted Wishart, Francophone Affairs Minister Rochelle Squires or the Opposition parties.

They wanted to give Premier Brian Pallister the first chance to respond, but have yet to hear back on their request for a meeting, said L’heureux.

“We were advised the letter was read, and nothing more,” said Christian Monnin, president of Société de la francophonie manitobaine.

Monday was a statutory holiday for the provincial government, and ­Pallister’s staff could not immediately be reached.

MTS president Norm Gould said enrolment in French-language education is up 40 per cent in a decade, though francophone teachers’ president Valérie Rémillard noted there is a deficit of teachers in francophone and French-immersion education.

There has been no formal announcement the ADM has been moved into other duties, Gould said.

French immersion has been growing significantly, especially in Winnipeg, where divisions such as Louis Riel and Winnipeg have been moving students and programs among schools in a search for space. In Louis Riel School Division, more than one child in three now learns in French.

Gould said education in French is not just a matter of translating curricula from English — it involves history, culture and other resources guaranteed by 19th-century agreements, which are delivered by the BEF.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca