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New Brunswick Education Minister Bill Hogan is under fire after saying that a middle school student is being used as a political “prop” in the ongoing fight over the future of French immersion in the province after she spoke out about her experience in a pilot French second-language project.
During question period on Wednesday, Hogan criticized Chris Collins, the executive director of Canadian Parents for French, for helping arrange a trip to the legislature for Natasha and Christina Robichaud last week. While at the legislature the pair spoke to the media about Natasha’s experience at Maplehurst Middle School in Moncton, which has blended French immersion and non-immersion students together.
“I was very disappointed by the stunt that the executive director of Canadian Parents for French did last week in the gallery, using a student as a prop,” Hogan said.
That comment prompted Collins to call for Hogan to resign.
“This is really small of the minister to point like this,” he said. “I think that honestly for not immediately withdrawing those comments he should be forced to resign by the premier.
“It’s not a good reflection of a minister of education and a former principal to detract from these students’ experience at the legislature and for them to participate in the process that directly affects them.”
The pilot project at Maplehurst was one of almost two dozen taking place across the province over the past two years that could replace the immersion program for incoming students in the anglophone school system in the fall of 2023. The program will focus on ensuring all students reach a conversational level of French.
Read more: Organizations call for New Brunswick to reconsider scrapping French immersion program
Robichaud, a Grade 7 student, said she was receiving far less instruction in French than she did in elementary school and worries her skills in the language are suffering. Robichaud’s mother Christina said she has spoken to many other parents and students who are expressing the same concerns.
Hogan told reporters after question period that he had no intention of offending the Robichauds, but says that their experience isn’t representative of everyone.
“I don’t deny her experience, I never would and her experience is the reality for her. The same way as the perception of the mom is her perception, all I would say is that’s not the overall perception at the school and that’s not the overall experience at the school. It’s very positive,” he said. “The fact that we have a whole school, the principal, the teachers, the staff and the students who all want to learn how to speak French is a wonderful thing.
“The executive director of the Canadian Parents for French chooses to focus on one experience and is trying to apply it to all students, which is just not the case.”
Liberal Leader Susan Holt said Hogan’s comments made her “sick” and called on him to apologize, while Green MLA Megan Mitton said the minister should be thanking Robichaud for speaking up.
The province will announce what the new universal program will look like on Thursday.
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