Quebec Superior Court

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