'Deeply troubling': English parents group says it was left out of hearings on Quebec education bill
A parents' group representing students in English-language school boards said it is "deeply troubling" that it was not invited to participate in public hearings on a bill that would overhaul Quebec's education system.
Tabled in early May, the Act to amend mainly the Education Act and to enact the Act respecting the Institut national d’excellence en education, also known as Bill 23, would give the provincial government more control over school boards.
Included in the bill are provisions that would, among other things, allow the education minister to appoint and dismiss the heads of school service centres and override decisions that don't align with specific objectives. The Ministry of Education confirmed that the bill would apply to both French school service centres and the province's nine English school boards.
The English Parents’ Committee Association (EPCA) said in a news release Tuesday that it was "excluded" from the committee hearings, which are scheduled to start Thursday in Quebec City.
Their name does not appear on the hearing schedule posted on the National Assembly website. Two groups representing francophone parents — the Fédération des comités de parents du Québec and the Regroupement des comités de parents autonomes du Québec — appear on the list of speakers invited to speak about the bill.
No English parents groups appear on the list. The only group that represents the anglophone community is the Quebec English School Boards Association.
"All of the associations representing the French parent committees have been invited to participate, but EPCA has been excluded, despite having directly requested to participate," the release said.
The group said it represents the majority of the English parent committees in the province, who will be impacted by the proposed legislation.
EPCA President Katherine Korakakis said the decision sends the message that the government "doesn't want to hear what we have to say."
"If you look at the groups that are there, there's only one anglophone group that's been invited to speak on something that's very impactful to our community," Korakakis said in an interview Tuesday.
She said she inquired with the Ministry of Education as to why the group wasn't invited but said she did not understand the ministry's response.
When asked why the EPCA wasn't invited, a spokesperson for Education Minister Bernard Drainville said in an email to CTV News that the list of groups scheduled to speak on Bill 23 was "the subject of discussions and agreement of all the political parties."
"Many groups will be heard in parliamentary committee, while others will not," the email said, adding that "groups that are not in committee can still send in their briefs to make their points and have them analyzed."
'IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE A VOICE'
Korakakis said the English-speaking community has a different governance system and should have a place at the table.
"It's important for us to have a voice to be able to just lend our voice to this very troublesome bill. Once again, this is something where the English-speaking community is feeling attacked," she said.
The sole English group invited to speak, the QESBA, has said it is considering taking the government to court over Bill 23 — legislation it believes is unconstitutional and infringes the rights of the English-speaking community in managing its own school system.
"As is, if the national assembly were to adopt [Bill 23] in present form, the QESBA would immediately undertake a constitutional challenge to the bill," said Russell Copeman, executive director of QESBA, earlier this month.
Copeman has urged the government to amend the bill before it becomes law.
After introducing Bill 23, Minister Drainville said he believes the legislation "respects the rights" of Quebec's anglophones.
"I'm extremely aware of the fact that this is something that is very, very important to the English-speaking community," Drainville told CTV News, noting that the candidates he recommends as executive director will be from the English-speaking community.
With files from CTV News Montreal's Angela Mackenzie and Lilly Roy
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.