Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

The New Frontiers School Board (NFSB) has formally joined the Quebec English School Boards Association’s (QESBA) legal challenge against budgetary measures imposed by the Quebec Ministry of Education that restrict funding for the 2025-2026 school year.

The NFSB council of commissioners unanimously adopted a motion during an extraordinary meeting on August 14, to join QESBA’s application to challenge the validity of the government’s budgetary rules and to seek a stay of their application. The necessary documents were filed with the Quebec Superior Court on August 15, on behalf of all nine English boards.

According to QESBA, the budgetary measures “infringe upon the management and control rights guaranteed to the English-speaking minority language community under Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.” The contested rules impose budget reductions, control how available funds are spent through different measures, and prohibit boards and service centres from using any accumulated surplus to offset government cuts.

QESBA asserts that these restrictions undermine the ability of school boards to make “locally accountable financial decisions in the best interest of their students,” while stripping their flexibility to “protect programs, services, and staffing levels across their communities.”

The chair of the NFSB council of commissioners, John Ryan, explained that the commissioners felt the restrictions were not appropriate based on recent court rulings that have upheld the Section 23 rights of school boards to manage and control their institutions. “The main reason we have come in is because of the constitutional issues involved,” he confirmed.

As of press time, the Quebec government had not issued a public reaction to the court challenge. The Education Ministry has imposed a September 26 deadline for school boards and service centres to adopt balanced budgets for the 2025-2026 school year.