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
'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Wildfire near Fort McMurray more than triples overnight, several evacuation alerts remain in place
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Putin replaces Russian defence minister in rare cabinet shakeup
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Edibles, armchairs and adapters: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.