The Lieutenant Governor in Council of Manitoba referred constitutional questions to the Court of Appeal regarding the validity of provisions in the Public Schools Act under section 23 of the Charter.
The Supreme Court of Canada held that the right to minority language educational facilities includes the right to a distinct physical setting.
Applying the sliding scale approach from Mahe, the Court found that the number of potential French language students in Manitoba warranted the establishment of an independent French language school board under the exclusive management and control of the linguistic minority.
The existing provisions of the Public Schools Act failed to meet these constitutional obligations.
