A1

MARTY KLINKENBERG
at the legislature

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Despite the brave front he always put on, there were times when the decision over early French immersion weighed heavily on Kelly Lamrock. One minute, he was sure he was on the right track. The next minute, he understood why nobody in recent history has suggested controversial reforms to language education.

"I would read one e-mail and somebody would tell me 'You're a hero!' " Lamrock said after the government announced its plan to improve French instruction. "Then I'd open the next and it would say, 'You are the devil incarnate and you are ruining my child's life.'

"I wouldn't have been human if, once in a while, I didn't wonder if the weight of the responsibility was too much for me.''

In a matter of two short months, Lamrock went from minister of education to minister of capitulation and, in this case, it's a splendid thing. On Tuesday, when the government's revamped strategy was released, he checked his ego at the door, tipped his cap to consultation and agreed that everyone is much better off because of it.

"The last six weeks have been remarkable and I have learned a lot as a minister,'' Lamrock said. "We were elected on a platform for change, and from the moment we got into office we were in a hurry to enact that change.

"In some cases, it was a good thing and well accepted, but on this one we moved too quickly. We have learned that we need to find ways to bring New Brunswickers into the conversation."

Perhaps the Liberals had an epiphany at the hands of a judge, but it was an epiphany nonetheless. And the strategy that evolved is far smarter and more representative of what New Brunswickers want.

Early French immersion isn't dead after all; it is merely being delayed two years. Now, according to the new plan, children will actually be introduced to French sooner, there will be more intensive instruction, students' progress will be monitored more efficiently and more money and resources have been pledged.

None of that would have occurred if it wasn't for court-ordered collaboration - and willingness to compromise on the part of everyone from government to parents adamantly opposed to the elimination of early French immersion.

It was a hard lesson, but a lesson learned. Lamrock has scars from being whacked across the knuckles to show for it.

"I think the judge did us a favour,'' he said. "The court case created the possibility for the collaboration that occurred, and I think it turned out to be the best political advice we ever got.

"At the beginning, I thought that people who came out against change were simply clinging to old models, and that was a wrong assumption on my part. At the beginning, I wasn't convinced there was a middle ground. But we talked and talked and managed to find a plan that strikes the right balance.

"As a result of the process, I think we ended up with a far better policy than the one we began with, or the status quo."

Imprudence and haste had the Liberals on the verge of disaster midway through their four-year mandate. But Tuesday's announcement, and a seeming willingness to engage voters, is a huge step toward diffusing public anger.

"We learned from this,'' Premier Shawn Graham said. "At the end of the day, we realize we were elected to lead, and we were also elected to listen.''

In a private moment after the announcement, Lamrock acknowledged that he digs his heels in at times and can be stubborn. Sometimes, as the head of a department with a $1-billion budget, he said that is not a bad thing.

"But in this case, it wasn't right,'' he said. "Was there a better way to do this?

"Yes, there was."

Marty Klinkenberg is contributing editor of the Telegraph-Journal. He can be reached at martyklinkenberg@hotmail.com.