EMSB

EMSB asks parents to ensure measles vaccinations

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By Dan Laxer
The Suburban

The Quebec government is calling it an outbreak. Since last December there have been 31 reported cases of measles in the province. Most – about 24 of them – in the Laurentiens. There are, so far, fewer than five cases in the Montreal area. The same is being reported for Laval and the Montérégie. Last March 3, one case was reported at the Bell Centre.

It was in the midst of the Habs-Sabres game. It was a KISS-themed game, with a KISS tribute band playing during intermission. Public health officials are suggesting that there may have been exposure to either workers or spectators who had either been at the Pizza Pizza and Tim Hortons counters, or in the reds, sections 111 to 117.

Measles is of particular concern for school children, so the English Montreal School Board has issued a warning, asking parents to make sure that their children are vaccinated. That means that they have received two doses of measles vaccine when they were at least one year old. It is a good idea, the board suggests, to make sure others in the family are protected.

“It is strongly recommended that people who are not protected get vaccinated as soon as possible,” the EMSB said. “If a case of measles occurs in a school, all adults and children who are not protected will be excluded from school for a period of up to several weeks.”

Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, conjunctivitis, and of course skin rash appearing first on the face, then spreading over the body. A person who contracts measles is considered contagious for four days before and after the rash appears. The disease lasts up to two weeks.

Measles can be a serious illness. One in 10 people need to be treated in hospital. In Canada one in 3,000 people die of the illness. The province is calling this Quebec’s second measles outbreak. The disease was believed to have been eradicated in Canada in 1998, but it has made a resurgence, with some blaming declining vaccination rates. There was an outbreak in Quebec from February to June of last year. There had also been a outbreak in 2011, with cases reported in 2015 and 2019.

In Montreal, possible exposure sites between February 21 and March 3 include the Rialto Theatre on Park Avenue, the Montreal Police Pension Fund office, on Gilford, Trudeau Airport – including on a flight from Dubai to Montreal (EK243), Ste. Justine’s Hospital, and the Bell Centre.

More information about the current measles situation can be found here: https://www.quebec.ca/en/health/health-issues/a-z/measles/measles-outbreak#c320659 n

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The EMSB Election: The Korakakis Team

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By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

Incumbent Chair Joe Ortona and his team are being challenged by Team Katherine Korakakis. Korakakis is president of the English Parents Committee Association of Quebec. Her platform includes “prioritizing the mental well-being of our students through comprehensive support programs, ensure that every dollar spent contributes directly to the well-being and success of our students and schools,” amongst others. Korakakis herself has said that as EMSB chair, she “intends to prioritize transparency, accountability, and community engagement.”

Her candidates include:

Ward 1: Franco Mazzariello (Ahuntsic-Cartierville-Montréal-Nord): Mazzariell has more than 15 years of involvement in the school board, and has served as Vice Chairman of the Governing Board at both Gerald McShane and Lester B. Pearson High School, which he fought to keep open.

Ward 2: Howie Silbiger (Côte des Neiges): Silbiger has been an educator for 11 years as well as a longtime radio show host, discussing education, community issues, and current events.

Ward 3: Samara Perez (Côte St.Luc, Montreal West, Hampstead): Dr. Samara Perez is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at McGill University, a licensed psychologist at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), and an Associate Investigator at the Research Institute of the MUHC.

Ward 4: Viktoriya Grosko (Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Rosemont, La Petite Patrie, Mont-Royal, Anjou, Montréal-Est): Grosko is an entrepreneur, artist, and advocate for children’s education; the founder of Art Blooms Club and host of a Ukrainian radio show.

Ward 5: Incumbent Joseph Lalla (NDG): Lalla has been an educator and principal for more than 35 years and a commissioner since 2007.

Ward 6: Tony Aversano (Rivière des Prairies): Aversano has been a member of the governing board of Lester B. Pearson High School.

Ward 7: Vicky Pololos (St. Laurent): Pololos is Chair of the Gardenview School Governing Board and an active delegate to the EMSB Parent’s Committee.

Ward 8: Antonio Zaruso (St. Leonard): Zaruso has served on the governing boards of General Vanier Elementary, Dante Elementary, and Laurier Macdonald High School and is an environmental consultant.

Ward 9: Joanne Charron Yannakis (Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension, Mount-Royal, Outremont): Charron-Yannakis was leader of a grassroots movement to prevent the closures of Carlyle Elementary and Mackay Centre and has worked with the English Parents’ Committee Association of Quebec, Quebec English School Boards Association, and the Quebec Community Groups Network.

Ward 10: Shalani Bel (Westmount, Southwest, Ville-Marie): Bel served on the governing board of Westmount Park School (WPS) for four years — two as Chair — and has been the parent delegate of WPS to the EMSB Parent Committee for three years. n

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Ortona will run for re-election as EMSB Chair

Local Journalism Initiative / / / ,

By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban

The fate of school boards, language rights, employees with religious garb and more may remain in the air for now but school board elections are still slated for November and EMSB chair Joe Ortona is not wasting any time.

A day after Ortona slammed Quebec French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge for scapegoating anglos by suggesting French instruction by school boards is insufficient, Ortona spoke to reporters in Mackenzie King Park in Snowdon to trumpet the board’s accomplishments and introduce a couple of candidates for the next elections and to confirm that he will be running again.

“In four years, we’ve rebuilt the credibility of the school board not only as an educational institution for which we always did an amazing job and a remarkable job, but also to rebuild the credibility of EMSB as spokespersons for the English-speaking community.”

The EMSB has been a strong defenders of “our rights for management and control of our school system, but also for our rights in other matters, and it’s part of the reason why we’ve launched court challenges against Bill 96 and Bill 21,” says the board chair. “I’m very proud of those and I’m confident that ultimately, we will be successful.”

The most important challenge, he added, is against Bill 40 which has already abolished French-language school boards but has been stayed pending a court ruling for English boards. “Because without school boards, there wouldn’t be any Bill 96 or Bill 21 challenges. There wouldn’t have been air purifiers installed in our classrooms, which we did on day one when we took office in 2020, and all of the other accomplishments that go with the English-speaking community’s local rights of management and control.”

Along with incumbent Ward 3 commissioner Julien Feldman, the sole elected member of the current EMSB council of commissioners in the current mandate as the office of chair and nine of the 10 available commissioners’ seats were won by acclamation. “I know everyone would like to be acclaimed,” Ortona told The Suburban, “but for the sake and strength of our democracy, I believe that all races should be contested.”

Ortona introduced Chelsea Craig as the candidate in ward 1 in Cote-des-Neiges, a seat held by longtime commissioner Ellie Israel. Currently director of operations for Mount Royal MP Anthony Housefather, Craig is a board member of the Quebec Community Groups Network, and as she describes, “a proud product of our English public school system. And I know that our schools, they’re not just buildings, but they’re the nursery of our future and they’re also the heartbeat of our minority language community.” Craig says she believes strongly in an environment that celebrates bilingualism “and to me, that’s the EMSB.”

Feldman said the EMSB has managed to hold Quebec’s feet to the fire on constitutionality and creating a bilingual economic motor to serve the city of Montreal and Quebec while delivering for young families “an unshakable confidence that their children and young adults have the tools as Montrealers” to thrive and contribute. n

Ortona will run for re-election as EMSB Chair Read More »

Court limits on Bill 96 a “significant win” for EMSB

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , ,

By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban

The Quebec Superior Court has provided a partial stay of provisions of Bill 96 and the Charter of the French Language following the EMSB’s challenge to the application of amendments brought into force in June 2023, without any consultation of the English-language community.

EMSB Chair Joe Ortona called the ruling a “significant win,” noting that the Superior Court stayed parts of the law that would require English school boards to communicate exclusively in French when corresponding with key institutions of the English-speaking community, such as the Quebec English School Boards Association. Many critics and even some proponents of a more robust French-language charter found it unreasonable that English educational bodies were forced to communicate with other English educational bodies in French.

While Ortona reiterated the board’s commitment to teaching French, so students “can live and work in Quebec, it is important to emphasize that we are an English-language school board and a key institution of the English-speaking community.”

In the ruling, the court concluded that the term “school service centres” in legislation applies to English-language school boards, despite the fact that Bill 40 does not apply to English-language school boards, which are also not school service centres. The EMSB’s council of commissioners will decide whether to appeal this part of the ruling.

This ruling also benefits other English language boards and the Quebec English School Boards Association.

As for Bill 96 provisions that were not stayed by the Court, the status quo will generally be maintained until there is a final judgment on the law’s constitutionality, Ortona adding that the EMSB can continue to use English exclusively in many situations, “which is good news.” The board challenged the constitutionality of some provisions the day Bill 96 gained assent. The EMSB’s constitutional challenge has been joined with court challenges of other parties and is progressing through the court system and expected to be a lengthy process, he noted. “The EMSB applied for a stay to avoid suffering irreparable harm while the EMSB waits for a final decision on the constitutional challenge.” n

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EMSB proposes new school for students with disabilities

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , ,

By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban

The English Montreal School Board has launched a consultation process to open a new school for students with different disabilities. The board is proposing to house the new school at Nesbitt Elementary School in Rosemont for the 2025-26 academic year, coinciding with the closure of St. Raphael Elementary in Park Extension.

St. Raphael presently welcomes students with severe socio-emotional and behavioural difficulties and is at full capacity with a waiting list. The new location will serve neurotypical and neurodivergent students with severe behavioural difficulties and provide specialized resources and space to address the needs of both groups. The school would welcome 112 students overall, with each class having from six to eight students.

Over the last five years, the EMSB has opened numerous self-contained classes in mainstream schools to address the needs of students with specialized needs, causing overcrowding in some schools and extended resources across the system. As the EMSB has limited numbers of self-contained classrooms due to lack of space, students with complex needs are often placed in regular classes. Moreover, some students need specialized services that self-contained classes in regular schools cannot offer.

EMSB Chair Joe Ortona says the public hearings to take place in September 2024 will explore the need to consolidate resources in one location and create a centre of expertise to better serve students with different disabilities. “Having the students with exceptional challenges in a building where there is an existing school with joint activities, such as concerts, carnival days, welcome back festivities, just to name a few, would help facilitate the integration of neurotypical children into a regular setting,” he said.

“The integration of students with particular needs into a regular setting offers equitable opportunities and improves the learning outcomes for all children.” n

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