N.B. parents hopeful for French immersion's future

New Brunswick parents are hopeful their children will be able to start early French immersion in Septemberafter a provincial court judge quashed the decision to cut the program.

"What we're expecting to have happen is EFI be reinstated for the fall of this year," said parent Ray Small, whose child is one of the two specifically covered in the court challenge over the provincial decision to scrap the program.

"That's what we're hoping to have happen."

Small's child was enrolled in February to start early French immersion in September. A month later, Education Minister Kelly Lamrock announced that the province was cutting the program, whichbegins in Grade 1,in favour of a five-month intensive French program for all Grade 5 students, effective thisSeptember.

In Grade 6, the students wouldhave the choice of moving into a late immersion program or continuing to take French as a single-class mandatory subject until they graduate from high school.

Small's wife Paula and another parent, Patrick Ryan, launched the challenge with a group called Citizens for Educational Choice, arguingthatallowing parents to enrol their children in the program and then later cancelling it amounted to a breach of contract.

On Wednesday, Justice Hugh McLellan of the Court of the Queen's Bench in Saint John agreed, calling the cancellation of the program "unfair and unreasonable."

Small said the family was "ecstatic" over the ruling. "We're feeling great right now," he said.

French immersion advocate Matthew Litvak also said he expects the program to resume in the fall.

"Our understanding is early French immersion will be put on this coming year," he said, adding he was "quite pleased" with the ruling.

"The onus comes back now to the government to say how they're going to engage in teaching of French as a second language in New Brunswick."

However, the fate of the program come September is still undecided. Lamrock said he will hold a six-week consultation period with meetings, a website and discussion papers before making an announcement Aug. 5 on whether the program will go ahead.

He said a decision in early August would still leave time to implement his proposals from March for the start of the school year. He said whether another plan could be implemented on this timeline would depend on the details of the alternate plan.

Conservative education critic Madeleine Dube said the she doubts the final decision will change.

"Well, the way that he's doing it, I mean basically, he's kept his arrogance. He's not respecting parents, he's not respecting people across the province, because he's using the summer time just to say, 'Well, I'm going to do the consultation'," she said. "This is not a true consultation."

A spokesperson for the school district said the superintendents in the English school system were expected to meet with officials from the Education Department on Thursday to discuss the court ruling.