was formed by francophones in British Columbia, providing a collective voice for various local Franco-Columbian organizations, and as an attempt to advance French-language accessibility rights within the province. The organization had initially lobbied the government for public funding of its three French-language parish schools, although by the 1960s, the organization had adjusted its platform, instead lobbying for a public secularized French language schools. FFCB lobbying efforts eventually led to the creation of Programme cadre de français in 1978, where French first language classes would be held in English-language schools. The passage of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 saw the FFCB to continue to push for a separately managed school board for the province's French language classes, leading to a lengthy court battle between the provincial government, and the Fédération des parents francophones de la Colombie-Britannique. The resulting case saw the province establish the Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique in 1995, a school board that manages all public French-language elementary and secondary schools in the province. Politics Franco-Columbians have historically been represented by the Fédération canadienne-française de la Colombie-Britannique. Conversely, governmental relations with the francophone community is handled through the Francophone Affairs Program, a division of the Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat, which forms a part of the office of the Premier of British Columbia. In addition to facilitating relations between the government and Franco-Columbians, the program also provides funding for francophone programs and services. However, no legislative framework exists for French language services outside of the province's public education system. Judicial access The judicial system of the province formally does not have an official language in place, although in practice the judiciary functions as an English-language institution. Practically speaking, access to francophone court proceedings in British Columbia was only provided for criminal cases, as mandated by section 530 of the Criminal Code, a federal statute. In 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Bessette v British Columbia that individuals charged with a provincial offence in British Columbia have a right to a trial in either English or French. The ruling was not based on the Constitution of Canada, but interpretation of provincial law governing trials for provincial offences. The Supreme Court found that the relevant provincial statutes had no explicit provisions on the language of trials for provincial offences. However, the Supreme Court found that the person accused of an offence under BC provincial law would