Court’s decision:

Francophone parents in Burnaby have the right to have their children educated in French at the elementary level in Burnaby. According to the judge, once an elementary program has been established in Burnaby (a program that would likely be established in leased space for approximately 15-40 students) and has grown, parents in Burnaby will have the right to have their children attend a homogeneous school in Burnaby that is able to accommodate approximately 175 students, with facilities that are substantively equivalent to those of the majority. There is currently no French-language school in Burnaby.

The implementation of section 23 of the Charter in Burnaby will be supported by the order requiring the provincial government to establish a separate long-term funding envelope for the CSF’s capital projects, by the order requiring the provincial government to help the CSF acquire sites to meet the CSF’s needs, and by the order requiring the provincial government to fund the CSF’s leases where a program is offered in leased space. The implementation of section 23 in Burnaby may also be aided by the order for damages regarding the decade-long freeze of funding for the CSF’s transportation budget.

The CSF and the Fédération des parents francophones will ask that the Court of Appeal recognize that the Francophone community in Burnaby has an immediate right to a homogeneous school that is substantively equivalent to the competing English-language schools.

Current project

The CSF has identified a site and is working with local authorities to obtain more information on the feasibility of the plan to acquire property and potentially build a school.