“We truly hope that the government will decide not to appeal this clear decision that is based on our rights to manage and control our schools,” says Dan Lamoureux, president of the Quebec English School Boards Association. The QCGN welcomed the decision by the Superior Court of Quebec on Bill 40.
“(W)e are particularly pleased that our rights have been recognized and respected thanks to this decision,” says Dan Lamoureux, president of the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) about the Quebec Superior Court’s ruling on Bill 40. “This is an important victory not only for the English-speaking community in Quebec, but also for official language minority communities across Canada,” reads a statement from QCGN President Eva Ludvig.
The Quebec Community Groups Network is heartened by an encouraging decision last week from the Court of Appeal in our community’s fight against the imposition of Bill 40.
In August, the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) had obtained an injunction from Superior Court suspending application of Bill 40 for English boards until the merits of the case could be argued. The Court of Appeal has now maintained that stay. Read more.
Quebec Superior Court has granted a stay to English school boards challenging a provincial government law abolishing them, pending the outcome of a legal challenge on its merits. The province passed the law — known as Bill 40 — in February, abolishing school boards and replacing them with service centres, eliminating school board elections for French boards in the process.
The province’s nine English school boards were permitted to maintain elections and had been given until November to hold them for an eventual shift to service centres later this year. Read more
A Quebec Superior Court judge has ruled in favour of the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) request for a stay on Bill 40, the law that abolishes school boards and replaces them with service centres.
“We are very pleased with the decision today which has the effect of suspending the application of Bill 40 to English school boards pending a decision on the merits of the case,” said QESBA President Dan Lamoureux. Read more
Quebec’s education minister doubled down Tuesday on the CAQ’s plan to abolish school boards.
“We want to transform school boards into service centres,” said Jean-Francois Roberge, who assured the English-speaking community its rights will still be respected under the new system.
English-language advocacy groups, however, are not convinced of that and have plans to fight back.
Quebec Education Minister Jean-François Roberge took to social media Saturday morning to to reiterate the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government’s position when it comes to abolishing school boards.
CBC Montreal interviews Quebec Community Groups (QCGN) President Geoffrey Chambers and Quebec English School Board Association (QESBA) Executive Director Russell Copeman on Coalition Avenir Québec’s plan of abolishing school boards and replacing them with service centres.
Montreal, September 21, 2016 – The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) recognizes that schools are a cornerstone of the vitality of English-speaking communities and believes that Education Act should enhance the responsibility of our educational institutions to serve their communities.
In a brief submitted to the Committee on Culture and Education this week, the QCGN argues that school boards, schools, as well as adult and vocational centres must support the development and vitality of their respective communities. QCGN, which represents 48 groups across Quebec, insists that this responsibility should be clearly defined within the Education Act rather than being discretionary on the part of educational institutions.
The QCGN is funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage.
