The Education Mediation Regulation, has been issued by the Ministry of Education in response to the November 23, 1998, judgment in L’Association des parents Francophones de la Colombie-Britannique v. BC. The BC Supreme Court had ruled that the Province was required to create a dispute resolution process to resolve differences that occur between school boards and the Conseil scolaire francophone (CSF). The Regulation uses the services of a mediator to facilitate discussions concerning any dispute that may arise in:
• implementation and operation of the transfer of assets;
• the co-management of shared assets;
• lease negotiations of any facilities that are not transferred; and
• any other dispute that may arise between the CSF and a majority school board.
Under the Regulation, either a school board, the CSF or the Minister of Education can initiate the mediation process. If the parties cannot agree on a mediator, application can be made to a roster organization for a list of qualified mediators to be selected.
