45 Years of Leadership at the Heart of the Francophone Parents’ Movement in British Columbia

The year 2024 marks the 45th anniversary of the Fédération des parents francophones de Colombie-Britannique! It’s the perfect opportunity to highlight the dedication of hundreds of parent volunteers who, throughout this time, and still today, have been shaping the education system of our Francophone schools.

The Right to Quality Education

Mobilization around the Francophone education movement was the catalyst for the creation in 1979 of the Fédération des parents francophones de C.-B., formerly known as the Association des parents du programme cadre de français from 1986 to 1996, and the Association des parents francophones de C.-B. until 1998.

The Fédération des parents was born out of the will of parents to come together to advocate for quality education in French for their children. Keep in mind that at the time, neither the Conseil scolaire francophone nor Francophone schools existed. Some School Districts operated a Programme Cadre in French, within an English-speaking school. It was far from equivalence in terms of education.

Propelled in 1982 by the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, specifically Section 23, which gives Francophone parents in minority settings the right to educate their children in a Francophone school, the Fédération des parents became a determinant in the defence of the rights of Francophone parents. Through several major figures in the movement, including Martine Galibois-Barss and Marc Gignac, the first legal cases were undertaken by the organization. This led to substantial gains, including the creation of institutions such as the Conseil scolaire francophone de C.-B. (CSF), which has been ensuring access to quality French-language education for Francophone families throughout the province since 1995.

The Parents’ Voice

To this day, the Fédération is bringing together the parents’ associations of Francophone schools and Francophone child care centres in British Columbia, and is the official voice of Francophone parents. It represents their interests, as well as those of the member parents’ associations, and advocates on their behalf according to their needs. In October 2016, it was in this capacity that it appealed, along with the CSF and parents, part of the judgment on the legal case on the equivalence between Francophone schools and English-speaking schools. However, it wasn’t until April 2019 that Canada’s highest court agreed to hear the case, which raised issues of public and national interest. And so it was only in June 2020 that a historic judgment was rendered by the Supreme Court of Canada that ruled in favour of the CSF, the Fédération des parents, and the co-appellant parents. It’s the last chapter in a long chronicle, played out over almost 10 years, but one which has shown once again that the Francophone community was justified.

Beyond these important legal milestones, the Fédération des parents has continued to offer ongoing support to its member parents’ associations, by equipping them to ensure the success of their mandate and promote parental involvement in the school system. This gives them a decision-making role through consultative processes enshrined in the British Columbia School Act. In addition, in order to support Francophone parents, several programs, activities, and resources have been created to provide help and guidance to parents in their role as first educators and active members of their community, bringing the Francophone community to life in all its diversity throughout British Columbia.

Education Continuum Strengthened from Early Childhood

Constantly listening to the needs of its members, and at the request of several associations managing child care centres, the Fédération des parents set up a new entity, Le Phare C.-B., in the fall of 2020. Its mission is to support, manage, and develop Francophone child care centres in order to meet the growing demand for Francophone child care spaces. Since its creation, twelve child care centres have been created or have had their operations transferred to Le Phare C.-B. across the province. In the fall of 2024, the years of experience of the Fédération des parents and the expertise of Le Phare C.-B. led to funding from the Ministry of Education and Child Care for the management of the Francophone Child Care Resource and Referral (CCRR), which expands and enhances the services already offered to Francophone families.

With its 300 parent volunteers working in its network at all levels of the education continuum, from early childhood to post-secondary, the Fédération des parents is at the forefront of the development of the Francophone education system in British Columbia. In addition, it collaborates with dozens of partners working towards community development within the Francophone community in British Columbia and the rest of Canada.

To all the parents past and present, who have given their time and energy to build, develop, and bring to life our educational institutions and our Francophone communities, we send you a warm THANK YOU and wish you a happy 45th anniversary!