By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
English-language school boards, parents’ groups and teachers’ unions are reacting with caution and some optimism after former Treasury Board president Sonia LeBel succeeded Bernard Drainville as education minister on Sept. 10.
The long-announced cabinet shuffle saw Drainville move from the education portfolio to environment and former housing minister France-Élaine Duranceau take over LeBel’s old Treasury Board post. Other high-profile moves included Geneviève Guilbault leaving transport for municipal affairs, former infrastructure minister Jonatan Julien – a former Quebec City councillor who’s intimately familiar with the headline-making third link and tramway projects in that region – moving to transport, Pascale Déry – who angered many in the English-speaking community by becoming the face of the government’s restrictions on English universities and out-of-province student enrolment – moving from higher education to employment, and Martine Biron moving from international relations to higher education. Christopher Skeete was named minister responsible for relations for English-speaking Quebecers – a responsibility which he held in Legault’s first cabinet. Ian Lafrenière took over the public safety portfolio from François Bonnardel, under scrutiny for his handling of the SAAQClic debacle as transport minister, who was not named to cabinet. Brome-Missisquoi MNA Isabelle Charest, who keeps her previous portfolio as minister of sport, recreation and leisure, will take over Bonnardel’s former file as minister responsible for Estrie.
The Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA), of which the Eastern Townships School Board (ETSB) is a member, welcomed the shift from Drainville to LeBel in education. “We look forward to rebuilding the strong and respectful relationship that once characterized our sector’s collaboration with the ministry,” said QESBA president Joe Ortona. “Our school boards stand ready to propose solutions and innovative approaches to further strengthen an already successful system for our students, staff, and communities.”
In a later interview, Ortona said he knew “very little” about LeBel and didn’t know what to expect from her tenure. “They [the Coalition Avenir Québec government] don’t have a good record in terms of education and an even worse record in terms of English education. We want to meet and build bridges [but] we are being very cautious.” Major priorities for QESBA include securing greater control over school board budgets and dealing with the impacts of the cuts announced earlier this summer.
“The only time we got to meet with Minister Drainville was on Bill 23 [a reform of school board and service centre governance from which English boards were ultimately exempted],” Ortona added. “Other than that, we have been largely ignored by a government which has done the bare minimum to keep dialogue open. I will be pleasantly surprised if things change.”
Major public sector unions have previous experience with LeBel, who led negotiations with teachers and with the Common Front of public sector unions. “I didn’t speak with her, but I believe she spoke with [my counterparts at the two major francophone teachers’ unions],” said Heidi Yetman, president of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers. “I heard that she and her team were respectful and competent, and we came to an agreement. We are pleased but cautious, because it is the CAQ and they are very anti-union.”
Like Ortona, Yetman hopes to have the opportunity to meet with LeBel in the near future. “We are facing a lot of budget cuts that it looks like will harm students, and we hope to have a meeting with her because she needs to hear from us. I’ve already sent a letter to congratulate her and request a meeting.” Yetman said she hopes LeBel will address “systemic underfunding” in the public school system and pay more attention to the specific needs of the English sector. “We’re used to working with few resources, and now we have even less,” she said. “We’re still stuck with a lack of funding for education, and education is the basis of a healthy society.”
Katherine Korakakis, president of the English Parents’ Committee Association of Quebec (EPCQ), is also eager to meet with LeBel to “share the perspectives of English-speaking families and to work together on solutions that ensure every child has the chance to thrive,” she said in a statement.
EPCA is calling on LeBel to “prioritize the success and well-being of students by reinforcing support services, maintaining qualified staff in schools, and engaging directly with parents as active partners in education,” the statement said.