N.B. ombudsman calls for delay in changes to French immersion

Education Minister Kelly Lamrock, under fire for scrapping the popular early French immersion program, turned aside requests on Wednesday for another year of public consultation on the controversial move.

He also refused demands from the Opposition Conservatives to resign, insisting he wants to do what's best for New Brunswick children.

"For them (the Tories) it's all about politics," he said in the legislature. "For us, it's all about kids."

Pressure is mounting on the Liberal government to postpone its decision to cancel early immersion beginning in Grade 1 in favour of French language training that starts at Grade 5.

Critics of the plan say it is unacceptable in Canada's only officially bilingual province.

Lamrock bowed to a recent court ruling ordering more public debate on the issue and is allowing another six weeks of comment on how to change French instruction for English students.

He said he will announce his final decision Aug. 5.

But he rejected a recommendation from New Brunswick Ombudsman Bernard Richard on Wednesday to delay any changes for at least one year.

"We cannot accept the status quo for another year," Lamrock told the legislature, warning that New Brunswick's school system is a "segregated environment."

Lamrock said the early immersion program has created "streaming" in which children with learning and behaviour problems stay in the basic English program, while more privileged students escape to the smaller classes of early French immersion.

He said that system cannot be allowed to continue, despite the many fans of early immersion.

Richard said that postponing the decision to cut early immersion by at least one year would allow more time for public input.

"In my time in public life, I have never seen a worse example of public engagement than this process," said Richard, a former education minister in Frank McKenna's Liberal government.

"It saddens me to see how the process has unfolded."

Richard said his office has received over 300 letters of complaint about the decision. He said people feel betrayed by the government.

Richard also recommends that kindergarten students be allowed to enrol in early French immersion in Grade 1 this September, as many parents had planned.

"Their registrations were accepted and they should be honoured," he said.

Richard said Lamrock's plan to announce a final decision on Aug. 5 is not credible.

"It's not fair to students, not fair to parents, not fair to teachers to say that, 'All options are on the table, I'll decide on Aug. 5 and we'll implement in September.' This is a really good opportunity for the minister to take more time."

Parents who support early immersion have described it as the "Cadillac" of French instruction and a critical program in New Brunswick.