Quebec English School Boards Association applauds major win on Bill 40

The Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) says it is very pleased with a Québec Superior Court judgment rendered in its favour on Aug. 10 on a stay of Bill 40: An Act to amend mainly the Education Act with regard to school organization and governance rendered by Justice Lussier today.

QESBA president Dan Lamoureux.

QESBA and its co-applicants filed for an interlocutory injunction or a stay in May of this year to suspend the application of Bill 40 to English school boards, arguing that the new governance model does not respect section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, allowing Anglophones to manage and control their minority language educational institutions.

The Québec Superior Court found that the applicants had raised “very serious questions” pertaining to the Bill’s constitutionality. Moreover, it found that the disappearance of English-language school boards (and their transformation into English-language school service centres) constituted irreparable harm.

“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. Given the very limited amount of time our boards have to organize school elections, scheduled for November 1, we are hopeful that the government will not appeal this decision,” said QESBA president Dan Lamoureux.

QESBA is the voice of English public education in Québec and represents 100,000 students in 340 elementary, high schools, and adult and vocational centres across Québec.