Francophone Bus Driver Shortage Disrupts Student Commutes in Saint John

Students in Saint John, New Brunswick, face significant disruptions to their education due to a shortage of francophone bus drivers. This situation has left many families uncertain about their children’s daily commutes, as the province operates separate bus systems for anglophone and francophone students.

Nine-year-old Julien Brooks, a Grade 4 student at Centre scolaire Samuel-de-Champlain, expressed his frustration: “I like my French school and I want to keep going there but I can’t trust I can get there and back.” His mother, Chantale Brooks, has encountered practical challenges as a result of this uncertainty. “The school will call us to come pick them up,” she noted. “We don’t all have the privilege of dropping everything to go pick up our child in the middle of the day.”

Parents have suggested potential solutions to alleviate the issue, such as recruiting anglophone drivers or sharing transportation resources with the anglophone district. In 2022, the provincial government sought legal opinions on the feasibility of establishing a privately-operated bilingual bus system. One opinion indicated that school buses, while not instructional settings, are considered an extension of the school system and could be covered under Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This section guarantees that both anglophones and francophones have the right to receive education in their respective languages.

Brooks expressed skepticism about claims that francophone students would struggle to communicate with English-speaking drivers. “To suggest that we have students in Saint John who only speak French, I doubt that’s the case,” she stated, pointing out that many families in the area speak neither English nor French. The situation has been exacerbated by last-minute notifications, with some parents learning as early as 05:00 that no bus will be available that day. The District scolaire francophone Sud has informed families that they can choose to keep their children home on those days.

The impact on education is evident, as fellow parent Sarah Basha highlighted. “In the first 16 days of school, we have experienced either delayed buses, cancelled buses or buses just not showing up at all,” she reported. “That equates to about 25 percent of the school year, making it very difficult for children to focus and stay engaged in the classroom.” Basha emphasized that the reliability of transportation is essential to upholding students’ constitutional rights to a francophone education.

Currently, Centre scolaire Samuel-de-Champlain is the only francophone school in Saint John, and it is already operating above capacity and seeking to expand. Basha stressed the importance of addressing existing needs before considering new facilities. “Until you have sufficient teachers and bus drivers, it’s difficult to build a new facility,” she stated. “Let’s concentrate first on the children we have and get them to school safely and on time.”

With 15 bus routes still without assigned drivers, many of which are based in Moncton and Dieppe, the school district is collaborating with the Department of Education to develop an action plan aimed at accelerating recruitment efforts. The ongoing shortage of francophone bus drivers remains a pressing issue for students and families in the region, highlighting the need for immediate solutions to ensure reliable transportation and access to education.