Joel Ceausu – The Suburban LJI Reporter
The Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) is “pleased” with the understanding reached with Education Minister Bernard Drainville regarding adoption and implementation of Bill 23 for the English school board network. Drainville tabled an amendment to Bill 23 walking back certain sections relating to English school board governance, which the lobby group says is a result of expressing to the Minister they clearly violate section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“While we maintain that these sections in Bill 23 are unconstitutional, we are pleased with the understanding reached with the Minister to not bring these sections of Bill 23 into force for our school boards,” said QESBA president and EMSB chair Joe Ortona. “While many people recognized that Bill 23 was clearly unconstitutional, including for non-section 23 rightsholders, the government refused to do so, it’s important to recognize that this is a significant step that the Minister is making regarding section 23 and the English-speaking minority’s right to manage and control its school system.”
The sections in question included granting the Minister the right to name boards’ and school service centres’ top administrators, i.e, the directors-general, authority to revoke board decisions and more. English boards, which essentially remain as is pending a final ruling on Bill 40, argued these local powers are essential elements of the management and control of educational institutions by English-speaking Quebecers, as guaranteed by the Charter. Liberal Education critic St.Laurent MNA Marwah Rizqy and her colleague Robert-Baldiwn MNA Brigitte Garceau pushed the government hard on this issue to reverse the governance provisions as originally presented.
As reported in The Suburban in March, the EMSB council of Commissioners adopted a resolution expressing deep concern over Premier François Legault’s statement about appointing directors-general, calling it unwarranted and further centralizing decision-making authority within the Ministry at the expense of local accountability. Ortona said the amendment would be contrary to the spirit of the stay issued by the Quebec Superior Court and confirmed by the Quebec Court of Appeal for the governance of English public school boards to remain in place while the merits of Bill 40 are before the court.
The EMSB and other boards also slammed the government for going ahead with legislative reform without consulting the communities affected, something Drainville told a parliamentary committee will be rectified in the future. QESBA, however, still maintains the legislation is unconstitutional. “Would we have preferred to have been completely exempt? Absolutely,” said Ortona, “but this is a step in the right direction as far as we are concerned.”