Good morning, and thank you for the opportunity to appear in front of the committee.
On the matter of the public schools, as you're aware, the Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon filed a suit against the Yukon government on February 18, 2009. The parties had invested significant efforts in an attempt to resolve the claim but were unsuccessful in bringing about an agreement. Following the filing of the lawsuit, the parties tried again, in good faith, to resolve the matters and avoid a trial, but the parties were unable to reach a mutually acceptable agreement. The court proceedings ended on February 3, 2011. It's unknown when the formal decision will be issued by the court.
The statement of claim is wide-reaching, but essentially I can give you a few of the items that are being considered by the judge.
They are looking for the transfer to the Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon of École Émilie-Tremblay and the parcel of land upon which the school is situated. These are currently public buildings. It's a public school system and publicly owned buildings and land.
They are asking for the authority to build a new secondary school on the EET land, the school land, which could accommodate up to 200 students. I should mention that the school currently on the site is a pre-K to 12 school.
They're looking for the capital budget to build the school, estimated at the trial to be in the range between some $15 million to $45 million, again, depending on what the outcome is going to be, and the right to manage the EET land, the schools that would be situated upon it, and the operation and maintenance budget required to manage them.
They're also looking for added human and financial resources and the transfer of the authority to the school board so that the school board becomes the employer of the director general, the school principal, the teachers, assistants, and technical support staff of the school.
I assure you that the Yukon Department of Education understands its legal obligations to support French first language education to right holders' children and to remain committed to continuing its strong support to our francophone students. Francophone students enjoy an excellent level of education and a well-equipped school that currently operates at 60% to 62% of its recommended capacity. They are enjoying strong levels of funding and student-teacher ratios that are among the lowest not only in the Yukon but in Canada.
The Yukon government believes that the level of management and control exercised by right holders in the Yukon, through the Commission scolaire--the only school board in the Yukon--meets and exceeds the legal requirements. We will continue to work with the francophone board to provide excellent French education to right holders' children. As well, the Department of Education is committed to continuing its support to the other groups of students, including French immersion students, first nation citizens, Catholic students, and students with special needs.
Thank you.