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L'École Guigues and Regulation 17

Photo by Alan L Brown - June, 2005

Plaque Location

The City of Ottawa
On the north side of Murray Street between Dalhousie Street and Cumberland Street

Plaque Text

Erected as a school in 1904-05, this building became a centre for minority rights agitation in Ontario early in the twentieth century. In 1912 when the provincial government issued a directive restricting French-language education to the primary grades, heated controversy resulted. Opposition to this directive, commonly called Regulation 17, was widespread and particularly intense in Ottawa. Funds were withheld from the city's separate school board and in 1915, after it had closed the schools under its jurisdiction, the board was replaced by a government-appointed commission. Openly defiant, the disenfranchised board fought back and successfully regained control of l'École Guigues in 1916. In the face of mounting protests, the provincial government reinstated the board and, moderating its policy, finally recognized bilingual schools in 1927.

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Posted March 11, 2009 - Go French people -Scuba Steve

Posted December 16, 2008 - imagine no french!! (gasp!)

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