French school board taking Nunavut government to court

Nunavut's French school board is taking the territorial government to court.

The board says the government violated its rights to ensure French education in the territory under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In a news release, the board says the government needs to provide a quality of education at the French school that is equal to that offered atschools that teach in the majority language.

It claims the territoryhas been "ignoring its constitutional and statutoryobligations."

The government says it's getting ready to defend itself.

"We're just going over through that. And as a body, everybody has that right. Again, as I said, we are going through the court papers and we will be responding to that shortly," said Education Minister Paul Quassa.

The francophone board is in charge of one school in Nunavut, Iqaluit's Ecole des Trois Soleils.

The board has been under fire recently from a group of parents upset at the way the school is run.

In all, 114people signed a petition demanding the resignation of directors on the French board.

The petition claims that the board doesn't communicate with parents.

The board has not answered CBC's requests for an interview about the petition and the lawsuit.