in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, F eb ru ar y 11 ,2 02 1 | 4 FREE DELIVERY IS A LIMITED TIME OFFER. SOME RESTRICTIONS APPLY. NO PROMO CODE REQUIRED 2423 TRAFALGAR RD. OAKVILLE (905) 257-7878 Make this Family Day extra special withWingsUp! On the 15th, OrderOnline from the comfort of your own home their children separated in- to different schools. Others are simply denied access to the program. "We've often said there's a loser and a winner. It's ter- rible -- especially for sib- lings. As a parent, you want to provide both kids with the same opportunity and to deny one is heartbreak- ing to a parent," said Nata- lie Cambone, an Oakville mom with one child in the program and another one who she plans to apply to enter it in the near future. In the last year, over 40 delegations have spoken in front of the board of trust- ees about French immer- sion issues. The vast major- ity have called for an expan- sion to accommodate the demand. Trustees and staff have been sympathetic to the plight of parents. In Decem- ber, the board approved a plan to add two additional French immersion classes per Halton municipality for the upcoming school year. The fear is that in some communities this will still not meet the demand, and the same system of 'winners and losers' will continue. "The issue is siblings are separated. My children right now are not in the same school. My daughter is in kindergarten in one school and then my son is at a different school. And let's say you don't get your child in the program, your chil- dren will continue to be sep- arated and won't have the same opportunities," said Cambone. There have been real consequences to the board due to a lack of spots. A 2019 parent survey from the board revealed inadequate French programming was one of the biggest reasons families considered leaving the board. The challenge to pro- gram expansion at HCDSB always centres on capacity issues. The board is grow- ing so quickly that adding classrooms for a minority program like French im- mersion poses a serious challenge. Ryan Merrick, the su- perintendent of facility management services, ex- plains the spacing issues. "If you look in Milton all of the schools are at 100 per cent [capacity] or higher. Take Our lady of Victory or St. Peter's, which are the lowest utilization schools in Milton. They have a porta- ble capacity of 12 at both those sites. If we did add two classrooms times eight grades, it would be 16 class- rooms and you go above and beyond the portable ca- pacity," said Merrick. Parents who have spo- ken in opposition to French immersion expansion have specifically raised addi- tional portables taking away from play space as their major issue. Mary Cruden, with the advocacy group Canadian Parents for French, said the immersion program does not have to take away from English track students. "A kid in French immer- sion doesn't take up any more space than a kid does in English. What we're talk- ing about is how we orga- nize that space to meet the expectations of parents. In Canada, a bilingual coun- try, it is a reasonable expec- tation to learn French -- our second official lan- guage," said Cruden. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: For months par- ents have been speaking up at board meetings about their struggles and anxiety with the way the French immersion program is handled. We wanted to learn more about the rea- soning for the passion around the program and what's being done about it. NEWS Continued from page 3 SIBLINGS SEPARATED DUE TO CAPACITY ISSUE A 62-year-old Oakville man is among a group of people charged with violat- ing the province's stay-at- home order and also faces criminal charges after po- lice raided an alleged gam- bling house in Toronto Jan. 29. At 8:08 p.m., Toronto po- lice attended an address in the Dundas Street and Spa- dina Avenue area after re- ceiving a report of a person with a gun. While they didn't find a gun, officers allege that when they entered the dwelling's basement they discovered 14 people and evidence of illegal gaming. A large quantity of cash was also seized. The individuals discov- ered in the basement ranged in age from 30-62 and included residents of Mississauga, Markham, Whitby and Toronto as well as an individual from Oak- ville. All 14 people were ar- rested and face charges un- der the criminal code and the Province's Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, which for- bids indoor organized events and social gather- ings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Oakville man has been charged with being found in a betting or gam- bling house. He will appear in a To- ronto court March. 25. Anyone with informa- tion about this incident is asked to contact Toronto police at 416-808-1400 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222- TIPS (8477). LOCAL MAN ARRESTED IN RAID OF ALLEGED GAMBLING HOUSE DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com CRIME