in a public school in 1918, Franco-Catholic school trustees formed the Association des commissaries d’écoles franco-canadiens (ACEFC). In 1918, Monsignor Mathieu Regina opened College Mathieu in Gravelbourg, a private institution that offered classical education in French. College Mathieu remained the only option for a French education in Saskatchewan for the next 75 years. It remained in operation as Western Canada's only private French language secondary school until 2003, when it was absorbed by the province's public francophone school system and renamed L'école Sécondaire Collège Mathieu. In 1982, Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guaranteed minority education rights. The establishment of the Charter led to the Fransaskois community pushing for further linguistic rights through the judiciary. In 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in R v Mercure that the ''''North-West Territories Act still applied to its succeeding provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan), notably Section 110, which affords certain linguistic rights to francophones. However, the court also stated in its decision that said provinces were also permitted to legislate on matters of official languages, resulting in the passage of the provincial Languages Act and the Act Respecting the Use of the English and French Languages in Saskatchewan in 1988. Although both legislation affirmed the right to use French in the judiciary and legislature, it also revoked many of the privileges accorded to francophones under the North-West Territories Act. Another supreme court decision (Mahe decision) in 1990 recognized the Fransaskois’ right to control their children’s education. 21st century In 2003, the provincial government introduced its first policy on French-language support for certain provincial services. The year 2012 was proclaimed the Year of the Fransaskois Community in Saskatchewan by Minister Donna Harpauer in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the ACF. Politics The Francophone Affairs Branch (established as the Office of French Language Coordination) was established by the provincial government in 1990, and serves as the liaison between the provincial government and the Fransaskois community. Conversely, Fransaskois interests are represented by the Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise. The ACF originated from the Association Franco-Canadienne de la Saskatchewan, formed in 1912. The organization was renamed as the Association Catholique Franco-Canadienne in 1913. The association dropped the word "catholique" in favour of "culturelle" in 1962. The organization adopted the name "L’Association Communautaire Fransaskoise" in 1999, to further reflect the structural makeup of the organization. The ACF's mandate is to represent the Fransaskois community in