Hamilton’s two French language school boards are publicly calling out Ward 6 Hamilton city councillor Tom Jackson and Hamilton city hall for blocking their attempts to build a new joint secondary school building.
In a statement issued two Fridays ago, the boards state they purchased land at 16 Broughton Avenue in Ward 6 in 2015 to build two secondary schools with shared facilities – one for the French Catholic and one for the French Public board.
They state Ward 6 Councillor Tom Jackson is blocking the construction of the new school because “the project would have the effect of eliminating the green space from the land located on Broughton Avenue.”
Following Jackson’s blocking the project, the boards entered an agreement for land on Garner Road.
They state City Hall is not providing the needed approvals to build the school at Garner Road either.
French language rights are guaranteed in Canada’s Constitution, meaning the boards can seek a court order against the City of Hamilton for violating these rights.
Having rights and exercising them appear to be two very different things. Bonne chance.