Ruling on Quebec language law gives hope to immigrant parents

Less Perreaux & Kirk Makin:

Supreme Court strikes down law that has blocked children from attending English-language schools.

For thousands of francophone and immigrant parents in Quebec who want to send their children to English public schools but are barred from the system, a Supreme Court ruling Thursday seemed to offer hope.

"This is really wonderful news, it's a great decision," said Virender Singh Jamwal, one of the 25 parents who fought in court for seven years for the right to send their kids to school in English.

But in its attempt to reach a rare compromise in Quebec's volatile language politics, the court may have managed to prick nationalist sentiment without doing much to protect Mr. Jamwal's educational preference.

In a 7-0 decision, the court struck down a law known as Bill 104 that, since 2002, has blocked some 8,000 children in Montreal alone from attending English-language schools.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at October 25, 2009 1:22 AM
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