The New Brunswick government is under fire from parents angry over its decision to cancel the popular early French immersion program for children in kindergarten and Grade 1.
The New Brunswick government is under fire from parents angry over its decision to cancel the popular early French immersion program for children in kindergarten and Grade 1.
About 400 parents and children were demonstrating in front of the provincial legislature Thursday with signs suggesting Education Minister Kelly Lamrock should be dumped rather than early immersion.
Many of the parents say the government has acted on flawed advice and inaccurate statistics. They say it would be a disgrace for New Brunswick — Canada’s only officially bilingual province — to scrap a program many believe offers the best opportunity for English-speaking children to learn French.
Lamrock was booed and jeered when he attempted to speak to the protesters.
The government is replacing early immersion next year with a Grade 5 program of intensive French-language training for all children.
-with a report from CP