WINNIPEG, Sept. 25, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - Section 23 of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms –which guarantees minority language educational rights to French-speaking communities outside Quebec and to the English-speaking minority within Quebec – requires a generous and expansive interpretation that favours all official language minorities throughout Canada.
This is what the lawyer for the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) will plead Thursday as the Supreme Court of Canada hears arguments in the case of Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique v. British Columbia, at proceedings taking place in Winnipeg, Man.
"The QCGN is showing solidarity with Francophone minority organizations in calling for a broad and generous interpretation of Section 23," QCGN President Geoffrey Chambers declared. "We aim to remind the court that this section applies to English-speaking as well as French-speaking minorities and explain why management and control of minority-language education is equally important in the Quebec context."
The QCGN had earlier been granted leave to intervene in this appeal hearing, which takes place tomorrow in Winnipeg. The QCGN has filed a 10-page factum (available here) and has been allocated five minutes to deliver oral arguments.
Read complete press release here: http://bit.ly/2lask7A
The Quebec Community Groups Network (www.qcgn.ca) is a not-for-profit organization bringing together 60 English-language community organizations across Quebec. Its mission is to identify, explore and address strategic issues affecting the development and vitality of English-speaking Quebec and to encourage dialogue and collaboration.
SOURCE Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN)
Rita Legault, Director of Communications, [email protected], Telephone: 514-868-9044, ext. 223, cellular: 514-912-6555
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