Education ministry officials refuse to deliver presentation in English to parents of special needs children
Several parents are upset after officials with the Quebec Education Ministry refused to deliver a presentation in English to parents of special needs students who go to English schools.
When pressed as to why they couldn't present in English to the roughly 65 parents who joined the Zoom session Thursday evening, one of the public servants said, in French, that "I would have liked to have done it in English but the law currently doesn't allow it."
The special education coordinator with the Ministry of Education went on to tell the parents, "We don't have the right to do the presentation in English."
The presentation was meant to provide information to parents about education and training programs offered by the ministry to help them make decisions about educational paths for their children in school.
There had already been a presentation by the ministry for parents of francophone students and the one on Thursday, which was in the works for months, was meant exclusively for English parents.
The slides of the presentation were in English but the coordinator spoke exclusively in French for about 20 minutes explaining the educational pathways.
The coordinators who said they couldn't deliver the presentation in English would nevertheless later answer questions in English during the Q&A portion of the session.
A recording of the Zoom session, obtained by CTV News, showed parents voicing their frustration in the online chat during the meeting.
"What? It's against the law to help us understand how to find help?" one parent wrote, while another one said: "This is ridiculous."
Upset by the lack of English, one parent wrote to the group: "What a shame. I was looking forward to this."
Another one said: "We do have a right to be served in English from [the] provincial government."
Sara Hossaini was one of the parents who attended the session to help make decisions for her 14-year-old son, who has autism and attends John Rennie High School in Pointe-Claire.
"It feels very discriminatory and exclusive, and just being ignored, you know, like you don't matter. When you have a child with special needs, believe me, life is hard," Hossaini said in an interview Friday evening.
"The presentation was promised in English and that's why we were there. Otherwise, we wouldn't attend."
She said French, her third language, is not very strong and was disappointed at the officials' refusal to speak English during the session.
"I have a child with special needs. The path of life is difficult. I have to figure that path out but figure that out in another language completely is — I hope you understand the challenges that adds," she explained.
The ministry of education did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday evening.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada Disability Benefit needs to be safeguarded from clawbacks, MPs unanimously agree
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning, police said.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Turfing Poilievre from House a clear sign of desperation by Trudeau Liberals
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
Six Canadian children repatriated from detention in Syria, Global Affairs Canada says
The Global Affairs Department says six Canadian children have been repatriated from detention in northeastern Syria.
Testifying in hush money trial, adult film actor Stormy Daniels describes first meeting Trump
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday in the hush money trial of former U.S. president Donald Trump, prepared to testify about a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential election 10 years later.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.