it was commissioned in response to conflicts within montreal's catholic school board in saint-léonard. the mouvement pour l’intégration scolaire (mis), created by francophone parents in the middle of the saint-leonard crisis, wished for mandatory french language education for allophones (immigrants and non-immigrants), whereas parents of italian origin, supported by anglophones, created the saint leonard english catholic association of parents to defend being able to choose either english or french schools.