Quebec's education minister was on the defensive Friday after he was accused of being misleading on the matter of abolishing school boards.
On Thursday, was Jean-Francois Roberge was asked why he’d not yet met with the school boards, he said during Question Period and in an interview on a French-language radio station that he'd held discussions with key players about the government's plan to abolish school boards.
He said he had met with the Fédération des commissions scolaires du Québec less than 24 hours after he was named education minister.
This was disputed by the federation itself, which clarified that Roberge had given a talk, but not held substantive meetings with them.
The Quebec English School Boards Association also said they hadn't had any 'reassuring' conversations with the minister, as Roberge had stated – in particular, because they are entirely against abolishing school boards.
Roberge responded to the claims on Friday, saying he met the director of the QESBA, Russell Copeman, recently.
“At the congress of the Anglophone teachers’ union on November 8th, I had the chance to discuss with a lot of teachers and the school boards, and I think I shook hands with Mr. Copeman that day,” he said.
“I had a lot of discussion through the years, since 2014, with QESBA and we didn't change our plans since then. So I already did those consultations, but of course we'll meet again and again and again - it's not over,” he added.
Liberal MNA Gregory Kelley was quick to respond.
“There was definitely some confusion yesterday when he mentioned ‘I've consulted with… all the English school boards, the Francophone school boards’ that it wasn't exactly clear that that is what had happened,” he said.
“I really do urge Mr. Roberge to get out there and speak with QESBA, speak with other members of the community – whether it be the QCGN, other actors who have expertise in education – to really get a better understanding of what our school boards do, what our commissioners do and how important they are for our community," Kelley added.
Kelley went on to say that while the Liberal Party at one time put forward a similar idea to do away with school boards, he maintains it was an idea the party discarded because they went on to consult with the various communities and associations and came to realize it was a mistake.
A meeting between the minister and QESBA has finally been arranged.
Copeman said he is looking forward to a meeting where the English-speaking community can make its case.
“We're anxious to meet with him and to explain our position, that the abolition of school boards, the elimination of school board elections and democratically elected school board commissioners is not the way to go in the province of Quebec,” he said.
