Posted December 3, 2014

OTTAWA, December 3rd 2014

On December 2, 2014, Mark Power, David Taylor and Jean-Pierre Hachey of Power Law’s Ottawa office, and Robert Grant, appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of Association des parents de l’école Rose-des-vents, et al v Ministry of Education of British Columbia, et al (Court Docket number 35619), representing the Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique (“CSFC-B”).

In 2010, the CSFC-B joined the Association des parents de l’École Rose-des-Vents in seeking a declaration that the facilities at École Rose-des-Vents, the only Francophone elementary school in Vancouver west of Main Street, are not equivalent to those of the English-language majority, in violation of Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Power Law argued, on behalf of the CSFCB, that the declaration made at the trial level, which was subsequently overturned by the Court of Appeal of British Columbia, should be reinstated. The key issues in this appeal focused on the trial judge’s conclusion that École Rose-des-Vents is not equivalent to the schools of the Anglophone majority and on the procedure that the judge followed in making this ruling. The Supreme Court of Canada has reserved judgment in the case.

For more information on this case, please consult the Supreme Court of Canada’s website or contact Caroline Etter at cetter@powerlaw.ca.

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