Quebec English community leaders rally against school board reforms
'The right to school governance is fundamental,' says former official languages commissioner Victor Goldbloom
People representing English-language communities across Quebec met in Montreal Wednesday to denounce proposed legislation to abolish school board elections and overhaul the way schools are run.
At issue, they said, is the constitutional right of Quebec's English minority to control and manage its schools.
"The right to school governance is fundamental," said the former federal commissioner of official languages, Victor Goldbloom, referring to Section 23 of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Bill 86 would eliminate elected school commissioners in Quebec's 72 boards and replace them with councils of 16 people, most of whom would be appointed.
The councils would include six parents, two school principals, one teacher, one non-teaching staff member and six community members.
The government has said it wants the legislation passed in time for the 2016-17 school year.
Lack of consultation: Jennings
Former MP Marlene Jennings, who chaired a recent study on ways to reform school board elections, condemned the consultation process prior to the introduction of Bill 86 last week.
"It makes a mockery of the English-language minority community's constitutional right," Jennings said.
Quebec Education Minister François Blais has maintained that Bill 86 does not infringe on minority language rights.
That claim doesn't wash with Jennings and other English community leaders, including Jennifer Maccarone of the Quebec English School Board Association (QESBA).
"It distances the minority English community from all decision-making that pertains to their schools, their school boards, their institutions, their schools' and students' success," Maccarone said.
Legal challenge ahead
Last week, QESBA hired a lawyer and vowed to launch a legal constitutional fight if Bill 86 is passed.
Maccarone reiterated that position Wednesday.
The news conference was organized by the English Parents' Committee Association, the Quebec Community Groups Network, the Quebec English School Board Association and the Quebec Federation of Home and Schools Association.