Does French immersion count?
The application form that Genn had to fill out to enroll Noah in Iqaluit’s French school required that Genn or his wife be French-speaking or that one of them had had primary school instruction in French, or that at least one of their children “has received or is receiving instruction in a French first language program or school.” But the Charter of Rights, which guarantees language rights to English and French minorities, doesn’t say “French first language program or school,” says Genn. What the charter does say on the subject is this: “Citizens of Canada of whom any child has received or is receiving primary or secondary school instruction in English or French in Canada, have the right to have all their children receive primary and secondary school instruction in the same language.” Genn says his son qualifies under this definition because Noah has received French immersion instruction in British Columbia from the time he was in kindergarten. But Daniel Cuerrier, the president of the
