Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Dec 17/01) - You can learn a lot about the new Ecole des trois soleils just by looking at a crate in the front yard.

Andrea Verreault, Rachel Cuerrier, Noema Roy and Kim Lamontagne grace the new French school's entrance hall during a brief grand opening ceremony on Dec. 11. - Nathan VanderKlippe/NNSL photo

Scrawled onto the wooden box in bold, uneven black ink is a simple title: "French school."

The sign is descriptive both in its wording and its style -- the building is so new that there is no official sign yet, and inside are the students and staff of Nunavut's only French-first language school.

The school has taken shape over the past year, but it is the realization of a 15-year-old francophone dream.

Until last Tuesday, the French school was a subset of Nakasuk school. But when its doors swung open that day, a rambunctious crowd of students, chattering in French, wasted no time exploring the freshly-painted halls.

Later, gathered in the entrance hall, students listened to principal Denis Dragon's first address.

"This is the first day of the first Francophone school in Nunavut," he said. "We want each of our students to have the opportunity to develop your talents here."

Most of the students then got a chance to list what they like best about the school -- the gym (although there is none, just a large open room), the school's bright colours and its architecture.

But pretty as it is, the $5-million structure -- paid for by the Department of Canadian Heritage -- did not appear without controversy. Some non-francophone parents are angry that they cannot send their children to the school.

When Bruce Parker moved to Iqaluit in the fall of 1999, he heard there would be a French school, something that factored heavily into his decision to relocate. But his request to enrol his children was refused because neither he nor his wife is francophone.

The argument comes from section 23 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees francophones the right to a French-language education.

Steve Genn, another concerned parent, has filed a complaint with the fair practices commission about the school. He said the Supreme Court has ruled that schools must support bilingualism, not just francophone culture.

"They're denying (my son) access to the school and they don't have any legal authority to do that," he said. "They have a legal obligation to have an admittance policy that doesn't discriminate."

Ecole des trois soleils has room for 120 students, but only 36 have registered. Dragon, however, predicts enrolment will swell with the visibility given by a building devoted to French-first education.

"Once people know there is a school they will bring eligible students," he said.