A well-known Montreal lawyer and anglophone-rights activist is planning to run for chairman of the English Montreal School Board.
Brent Tyler, who once served as president of Alliance Quebec, has argued several prominent cases on English-language rights, and has rallied a team of candidates who've endorsed him for chairman.
He made his candidacy public in an announcement Tuesday.
Tyler doesn’t have any experience in this field, but says as a longtime communicator and advocate, he believes he can make a difference.
He has worked for 30 years as a lawyer, often fighting cases where parents sought to provide their children with access to English schools.
He challenged Bill 104, and in that case the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to bar certain students from English schools.
Tyler, who said he’s helped thousands of families obtain certificates of eligibility, is concerned about that issue, as well as declining enrolment and possible school closures.
Running for chairman of the EMSB is a new way for him to try and tackle these issues, he said, adding that he’s prepared to juggle the two responsibilities.
“I hope to balance these two obligations by not taking any new challenges on,” he said. “I have two (cases) now that are pending at the trial level; it takes seven years to get to the Supreme Court. Out of obligations to those clients, I’ll continue, but I won’t take any new challenges on. I want to let the EMSB be my cause for the next three years.”
The upcoming school board election takes place on Nov. 2.
In this election, ten commissioners will be chosen rather than the current 23.
Parents will vote directly for the chairperson, rather than the commissioners voting for that position, as has been tradition.
