(2) The Conseil acadien is responsible for the delivery and administration of all French-first-language programs.
(3) A public school, or part of a public school, in which a French-first-language program is provided shall be known as an école acadienne.
(4) Upon the establishment of the Conseil acadien,
(a) every conseil d'école is dissolved;
(b) the Conseil acadien becomes responsible for the control and management of every educational facility of a conseil d'école;
(c) the assets and liabilities of the conseils d'école are vested in the Conseil acadien, including all employee benefits and entitlements;
(d) the vesting of any assets of a conseil d'école in the Conseil acadien does not void any policy of insurance with respect to any of the assets, including any public liability policy, and the Conseil acadien is deemed to be the insured party for the purpose of such policy;
(e) the Conseil acadien is substituted for a dissolved conseil d'école with respect to any agreement to which the dissolved conseil d'école was a party;
(f) all persons employed by a conseil d'école become employees of the Conseil acadien, the employment and seniority of each of the employees with the conseil d'école at the time of establishment of the Conseil acadien is deemed to be employment and seniority with the Conseil acadien and the continuity of employment and seniority is not broken;
(g) the Conseil acadien is a successor employer for the purpose of the Pension Benefits Act;
(h) the Conseil acadien shall continue to pay any pension or annuity, being paid by a conseil d'école, according to its terms;
(i) notwithstanding clauses (c) and (f), Section 71 of the Labour Standards Code does not apply to a period of employment with a conseil d'école; and
(j) Sections 9 and 10 apply mutatis mutandis. 1995-96, c. 1, s. 11 .
Entitlement to program
12 The children of an entitled parent are entitled to be provided a French-first-language program by the Conseil acadien if they otherwise have a right pursuant to this Act to attend a public school and if the numbers warrant the provision of the program out of public funds. 1995-96, c. 1, s. 12.
Election of Conseil
13 (1) The Conseil acadien shall be elected by entitled persons, at the same time as the regularly scheduled elections for school boards.
(2) An entitled person may vote in an election for the Conseil acadien or for another school board if that person is otherwise entitled to vote in an election for a school board but that person is not entitled to and shall not vote in the same election for both.
(2A) For greater certainty, an entitled person who votes in an election for either the Conseil acadien or for another school board may vote for either the Conseil acadien or for another school board in a special election that follows the election.
(3) Notwithstanding the Municipal Elections Act,
(a) for greater certainty, only entitled persons may be members of the Conseil acadien;
(b) only an entitled person may nominate a candidate for election as a member of the Conseil acadien and a person nominating such a candidate shall be required to sign a statement stating that person's status as an entitled person, in a form prescribed pursuant to the Municipal Elections Act;
(c) a person applying to vote in an election for the Conseil acadien shall not be required to take an oath or make an affirmation attesting to that person's status as an entitled person but shall be required to confirm the person's status as an entitled person as defined in the Education Act and, where a person wishes to provide the confirmation, the person may provide the confirmation by requesting the ballot to vote for the Conseil acadien and that request constitutes the confirmation;
(d) where a person votes in an election for the Conseil acadien, that fact shall be entered in the poll book in the manner prescribed by or pursuant to the Municipal Elections Act;
(e) for greater certainty, the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs may, pursuant to that Act, prescribe or alter any forms under that Act for the purpose of this Section; and
(f) the Municipal Elections Officer may give such directions as may be necessary for the purpose of this Section.
(3A) A returning officer shall accept
(a) subject to subsection 44(5) of the Municipal Elections Act, a signed statement, in a form prescribed pursuant to the Municipal Elections Act, of a candidate that the candidate is an entitled person; or
(b) a statement signed pursuant to clause (3)(b),
as sufficient evidence that the candidate or person is an entitled person.
(4) Pending the election of the first Conseil acadien, the Governor in Council shall appoint the members of the Conseil acadien.
(5) Commencing with the first election of the members of the Conseil acadien,
(a) the Province shall be divided into eight electoral districts or such greater number of districts as the Utility and Review Board determines;
(b) the boundaries of the electoral districts shall be as determined by the Utility and Review Board; and
(c) the same number of members need not be elected from each electoral district.
(6) In determining the boundaries of the electoral districts and the number of members to be elected from each, the Utility and Review Board shall give consideration to effective representation of the Acadian and francophone communities in the Province and effective representation shall be considered of greater importance than parity of voting. 1995-96, c. 1, s. 13; 2000, c. 11, s. 4; 2003, c. 9, s. 44 .
Designation of facilities
14 (1) The Governor in Council may designate educational facilities that are to be used to provide a French-first-language instruction program.
(2) Upon designation pursuant to subsection (1) of an educational facility owned by a district school board or regional school board,
(a) where the educational facility is an entire school, the ownership of the school and its control and management are transferred to the Conseil acadien; or
(b) where the educational facility is not an entire school, the ownership of the school and its control and management are transferred to the Conseil acadien if the Governor in Council so orders.
(3) Upon designation pursuant to subsection (1) of an educational facility owned by a municipality,
(a) where the educational facility is an entire school, the control and management of the school is transferred to the Conseil acadien; or
(b) where the educational facility is not an entire school, the control and management of the school is transferred to the Conseil acadien if the Governor in Council so orders.
(4) In subsections (2) and (3), "school" includes the real property upon which the school is situate.
(5) Where an educational facility is designated pursuant to subsection (1), the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister after consultation by the Minister with the Conseil acadien and the school board responsible for the facility before the designation,
(a) after consultation by the Minister or the Minister's representative with persons employed by a school board in or with respect to the facility or their representative, designate them to become employees of the Conseil acadien;
(b) designate assets and liabilities of a school board within or pertaining to the facility to be vested in the Conseil acadien;
(c) designate assets of a school board within or pertaining to the facility, including assets designated pursuant to clause (b), to be shared by the school board and the Conseil acadien;
(d) designate agreements in which the Conseil acadien is to be substituted for the school board.
(6) Upon designation of a person pursuant to clause (5)(a),
(a) that person becomes an employee of the Conseil acadien;
(b) the period of employment and seniority of that person with a school board at the time of designation of that person is deemed to be employment and seniority with the Conseil acadien and the continuity of employment and seniority is not broken;
(c) the Conseil acadien becomes responsible for all employee benefits and entitlements that person had as an employee of the other school board;
(d) the Conseil acadien is a successor employer for the purpose of the Pension Benefits Act; and
(e) Section 9 applies mutatis mutandis.
(7) Upon designation of assets and liabilities pursuant to clause (5)(b),
(a) those assets and liabilities are vested in the Conseil acadien; and
(b) the vesting of any assets of a school board in the Conseil acadien does not void any policy of insurance with respect to any of the assets, including any public liability policy, and the Conseil acadien is deemed to be the insured party for the purpose of such policy.
(8) Upon designation of assets pursuant to clause (5)(c), the assets shall be maintained by the school board that owns the assets and each school board shall pay its share of the costs necessary to operate and maintain those assets, as agreed upon by the school boards.
(9) Where as a result of a designation pursuant to subsection (1) an educational facility becomes a facility shared by the Conseil acadien and another school board, each school board shall pay its share of the costs necessary to operate and maintain the facility and of the outstanding capital costs pertaining to the facility, as agreed upon by the school boards.
(10) Where the Conseil acadien and another school board cannot agree upon their shares of the costs referred to in subsection (8) or (9), the Minister shall determine each school board's share.
(11) Upon designation pursuant to clause (5)(d) of an agreement to which a school board is a party, the Conseil acadien is substituted for the school board with respect to that agreement. 1995-96, c. 1, s. 14 .
Language of administration and operation
15 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the language of administration and operation of the Conseil acadien and all French-first-language program facilities shall be French.
(2) When the circumstances warrant the use of English, the Conseil acadien and French-first-language program facilities shall use English. 1995-96, c. 1, s. 15.
Duties of Conseil
(a) promote and distribute information about the French-first-language program;
(b) include in its learning materials information about the Acadian culture; and
(c) in providing its educational programs, engage in activities that promote Acadian culture and the French language. 1995-96, c. 1, s. 16 .
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