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
'We were vetted': Sex-ed organization 'disappointed' over Higgs' comments
The head of a Quebec-based sexual and reproductive health organization says she's disappointed New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has deemed presentations she did in the province last week inappropriate.
Grayson Murray's parents say the two-time PGA Tour winner died of suicide
Grayson Murray's parents said Sunday their 30-year-old son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event.
The dreams of a 60-year-old beauty contestant come to an abrupt end in Argentina
A 60-year-old woman saw her dreams of becoming the oldest Miss Universe contestant in history melt away in a haze of sequins and selfies Saturday at Argentina’s annual beauty pageant.
2 died in plane crash near Squamish, B.C., police confirm
Two people died after a plane went down in a remote area near Squamish, B.C. on Friday, authorities have confirmed.
Kingston, Ont. tenants fed up with lack of action from landlord over broken floor tiles
Joel Felder and Misti Pitcher have been living in their apartment in Kingston, Ont. for over two years, but the past 12 months have been miserable.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
Are you a loud snorer? You could have sleep apnea
You'll have a lot more energy throughout the day if you get a good night's sleep, but not everyone does due to a medical condition.
At least 15 dead after severe weather carves path of ruin across multiple U.S. states in the South
Powerful storms killed at least 15 people and left a wide trail of destruction Sunday across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas during the latest deadly weather to strike the central U.S.
North Korea informs Japan of a plan to launch military spy satellite
North Korea has told Japan it plans to launch a satellite by early next week, an apparent effort to put its second military spy satellite into orbit.