PEI education fight goes to high court

The Supreme Court of Canada heard opening arguments Thursday in a case that has pitted francophone families in Summerside against their provincial government.

The issue is whether the government is required to provide the families' children with education in French in their own community.

They're now bussed to a French-language school in Abram's Village, 30 kilometres away. The trip takes an hour each way.

"If I don't send my kids to a French school, their children will not have that right," said Noella Arsenault Cameron, one of the parents involved in the case.

She said it's a matter of survival.

"Survival of the community, of the culture, and of my family."

Some francophone parents in Summerside have opted to send their children to local English schools.

"The impact is that we end up with 179 kids in English schools, for God's sake," said their lawyer, Robert McConnell in arguments before the court. "Sixty-two per cent of all the eligible children are in English schools."

The lawyer for the government, Roger Langille, agreed that francophone children have a right to education in French.

But he said the government has the right to decide where that education will be provided.

"It is the minister's authority to approve the location of schools," he told the court.

The case could have implications for other communities across Canada, including one in Prince Edward Island.

Francophone parents in Tignish are hoping to get a French school in their community.