The PQ came to the defence of the Anglophone community and the largest Francophone school board in Quebec Thursday, lamenting that they were not invited to consultations on the bill that aims to change how Quebec’s school boards are governed.
The discussions will begin at the end of January. If the bill is passed, the very structure of school boards will be profoundly changed. Decision-making and appointments will be transferred to a new council made up of school staff, parent representatives, and community leaders.
PQ Leader Pierre Karl Peladeau says considering the size and the importance of the EMSB and the Commission scolaire de Montreal, Education Minister Francois Blais should have invited them to the table.
“We're completely flabbergasted by the fact that the Liberal government refused the dialogue with the Anglophone community. If they want to reform school board governance, the Liberal government should and must respect Anglophone community rights. They should participate in Parliamentary Commissions and all other consultations,” he said.
The PQ says it will fight the bill in the Parliamentary commission, saying the structure that will replace the existing council of commissioners at each school board is ill-defined, and questioned the constitutionality of Bill 86.
