Merci, Monsieur le President. [Translation] I have spoken several times, though, in this House about the often strained relationship between the Department of Education and the NWT francophone community.
On July 2, 2019, the NWT Supreme Court ruled against this government in relation to constitutionally entrenched French-language rights. The Minister did not properly apply the policy on admission of non-rights holders. The Minister was directed to reconsider her decision while paying attention to the need for a restorative approach to French first language education.
I am disappointed with Cabinet's decision, again, to go to court. Why does our government continue to spend money on adversarial court proceedings rather than fixing the problem of a faulty ministerial directive that is out of date and too narrow?
The 2016 Ministerial Directive on Enrolment of Students in French First-Language Education Programs was not developed collaboratively with the francophone community or education bodies. It is much more restrictive than that is found in other jurisdictions, including the Yukon, and where authority has been delegated to the relevant education bodies with appropriate reporting.
Fix the root of the problem, a poorly conceived ministerial directive. I will have questions later today for the Minister on why we continue to devote resources to court proceedings rather than working with the francophone community and families to ensure that our children have access to an adequate francophone first-language school system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Translation ends]