The recent judgment of the Superior Court on the reform of school governance is based on an overly broad vision of the right to education in the language of the minority, argues the Attorney General of Quebec in the notice of appeal that he just filed.
Prime Minister François Legault announced last week that Quebec intended to contest a recent ruling in favor of the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA). She believes that Bill 40 — which notably transformed school boards into school service centers — violates the rights of linguistic minorities in Quebec.
“We are disappointed, but not surprised,” responded Friday the general director of the ACSAQ, Russell Copeman. “We suspected from the beginning that this matter would go all the way to the Supreme Court, but all the same, we had hope that there would be a certain openness from the Quebec government to […] discuss with us and see if there is an alternative to legalization. »
The English school boards won a round against the government on August 3. Judge Sylvain Lussier, of the Superior Court, then concluded that the reform of school governance was partly unconstitutional, in addition to violating the rights of the English-speaking community of Quebec.
However, the fight before the courts continues. In a notice of appeal dated September 8, the Attorney General of Quebec argues that Judge Lussier’s conclusions “stem from the very broad scope he gives to section 23 of the Canadian Charter.”
This article guarantees members of minority groups the right to education in their language, when their numbers justify it.
Parliamentary sovereignty in danger
According to Quebec, “the first judge erred in concluding that section 23 imposes an obligation to consult members of the minority linguistic community, that it applies within the framework of the legislative process and that it imposes on the legislative power the obligation to integrate into a law the elements requested by the English-speaking community that would meet their needs. “.
The magistrate also made an error “by not establishing any limit on the subjects on which these requests must be considered,” writes the Attorney General of Quebec. Judge Lussier’s conclusions “directly clash with the principles of the separation of powers and parliamentary sovereignty,” we read in the appeal statement.
The English-speaking school boards judge that Bill 40, adopted under gag order in February 2020, constitutes an attack on their power to manage and control their educational institutions. They believe they are being stripped of their decision-making power for the benefit of the Ministry of Education.
The reform of school governance notably involves the replacement of the councils of commissioners by boards of directors. Among English speakers only, school elections are maintained, but only for members of the boards of directors who are parents of students or representatives of the community. The positions of presidents and vice-presidents of the CSS are reserved for members serving as parents of a student, and this provision is considered too restrictive by the English-speaking school boards.
It should be noted that the board of directors of the Quebec Community Groups Network voted on Thursday a motion to have intervener status in the matter. “It’s important for the community to have institutions that are managed by the community. So centralization of government is not a good idea, in any sector,” said Director General Sylvia Martin-Laforge at Duty. She also said she believed the case would go all the way to the Supreme Court.