A critical moment for Quebec’s English community

School board election resumes – vote to be held September 26

By Kirk Kelly

The school board election that has just been called is critical to the ability of the English community to continue to shape the education of our children. It has been called despite growing fears that Canada and Quebec may experience a fourth wave of the COVID-19 virus via the Delta variant and others that are appearing in many countries and spreading. No matter, Premier Francois Legault‘s CAQ government has decided to resume the elections for the English school boards in Quebec, with the vote scheduled for September 26.

The decree to resume the elections in eight of the nine English school boards was issued on August 4 and in the early afternoon of August 6, the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) issued a press release entitled Resumption of School Elections/QESBA Disappointed School Elections Not Twinned with Municipal Elections, seen by many school board officials on the morning of August 7. It certainly took many by surprise.

… these elections are important for the English-speaking community if we hope to continue to have a strong say in our children’s education.

The elections, which include the English Montreal School Board’s Ward 3 (Westmount/Southwest Montreal/downtown Montreal east to University Street), are expected to officially resume in late August. But they will not be alone as they may coincide with a federal election that many political pundits expect will be called in the next 10 days and the start of the municipal elections in Westmount and the City of Montreal, and other cities across the province.

As noted in previous articles in WestmountMag.ca, these elections are important for the English-speaking community if we hope to continue to have a strong say in our children’s education.

The CAQ’s Bill 40, which is being challenged in court – a ruling is being prepared by the Quebec Superior Court justice who heard the case last spring – seeks to eliminate the constitutionally-protected English school boards and replace them with service centres that are effectively controlled by the ministry of education. The French school boards, which did not have constitutional protection, were wiped out overnight. The protection of the English school board and French boards in other provinces is based on Section 93 of the British North America Act, which was transferred to Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This protects the school board of minority language communities in the provinces and territories and it has been bolstered by several Supreme Court rulings, including the 1990 Mahe v Alberta decision.

The elected English school boards, because they are independent, were able to install air purifiers in classrooms to help protect the students in the last academic year, while the French service centres were forbidden by the government to do so. You would think protecting children would be a no-brainer but the inability of the French boards to install the needed equipment is just a hint of the changes to come if the ministry takes over running our schools. This means there is a lot at stake in ensuring that the English community retains its school boards and that hopefully in the near future, the French school boards are restored. A strong voter turnout throughout Quebec will demonstrate that we care about our school boards and desire to manage and control our schools and educational infrastructure.

‘The CAQ’s Bill 40, which is being challenged in court… seeks to eliminate the constitutionally-protected English school boards and replace them with service centres that are effectively controlled by the ministry of education.’

It is important to point out that last Spring’s Bill 21 ruling on the CAQ’s infamous “secularism” law, which bans new provincial government employees, teachers, judges, police officers, etc. from wearing visible religious symbols, exempted MNAs and the employees of the English school boards. This bolsters the case of the English school boards.

The QESBA’s press release on the resumption of the elections is crystal clear:

“The Quebec English School Boards Association is disappointed by the decision of the Government of Québec to hold school elections interrupted by the COVID-19
pandemic on September 26th. In the event the anticipated federal election is held this fall, some Quebecers will be called to the polls for three different elections on three different dates in a relatively short time period.”

“The QESBA has long advocated that school elections be twinned with municipal elections, as is the case in many other provinces. Given that there are a limited number of positions to be filled, we thought that this represented a good opportunity to initiate a pilot project and hold school and municipal elections together on November 7th. This would reduce costs, and would make voting in school elections more convenient. The Government of Québec has missed an opportunity to innovate in the field of democratic reform by testing twinned elections in a limited format,” stated QESBA Vice President Noel Burke.

“As of today, elections will have to be held for 17 positions (three chairs elected throughout the territory of the respective school boards and commissioners in 14 wards) in 8 of 9 English boards. There is no election in Riverside School Board since there are no vacancies.”

“Despite our disappointment with this decision of the Government of Québec, our member school boards will do everything they can to ensure the school elections on September 26th are as well organized as possible. We hope that the circumstances involving multiple elections on multiple dates and the continuing challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic will not have an adverse effect on the running of school elections and on voter turnout”, concluded Vice President Burke.

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Many have also called for the school elections to be conducted via a mail-in ballot so that people can safely vote without fear of being infected by COVID or spreading it to others at the polling stations.

This election is important and every vote will count – not just for the candidates but for the English community. Premier Legault’s government is keen to have an election that will result in a low voter turnout. Its goal, when the appeal of Bill 40 is heard by the Quebec Court of Appeals, is to say that there was a low voter turnout and that the English community does not care about its school boards.

‘Many have also called for the school elections to be conducted via a mail-in ballot so that people can safely vote without fear of being infected by COVID or spreading it to others at the polling stations.’

Government lawyers uttered this augment at last Spring’s Superior Court hearings, using voter turnout from the 2014 school board elections, which had participation rates of between 15 to 18 percent. The voter turnout would have been higher if parents whose children who graduated from high school were not automatically placed on the French voters list, as was the case for the graduating students.

The last round of the school board elections, which was postponed last November due to spiralling daily COVID infection rates, was scheduled to be held on December 20, five days before Christmas, a move designed to ensure a low voter participation rate. Fortunately, the election was cancelled and to be fair to the government, the parameters to request mail-in ballots were expanded to all electors who may have come into contact with someone infected by COVID, the actual germs or believed that they had COVID. Many voters successfully secured their mail-in ballots before the cancellation.

We can only hope that when the election resumes, similar parameters will be in place to ensure a safe vote in the midst of a pandemic. If this does not occur, many are urging the public to send emails to the premier, education minister and their MNAs to demand a mail-in ballot election.

The COVID situation is serious as we’re not out of the woods just yet and public health concerns should remain a priority.

This article entitled Be sure to be on the English School Board electors list, was published on June 29. It contains information on how to get one’s name onto the school board electoral list.

The election offices of the individual school boards will re-open soon. In the meantime, individuals can still apply to have their names placed on the electoral list by filling out the form which can be found on this EMSB page on its website. Just click on the link at the bottom of the page to access the form.

The procedure to get onto the list will only take a few minutes. Please take the time to do so whether you live in the Greater Montreal Area or other parts of the province.

Below is more detailed information on how to get one’s name onto the voters list for the EMSB, but the procedure should be similar for the other school boards.

How can I verify if I am on the English electoral list?

Phone Elections Quebec at 1-888-353-2846. You are permitted to verify for your spouse and anyone else over 18 years of age in your household. Or send them an email at info@electionsquebec.qc.ca with the name(s) of everyone and your address.

What must I do if I am not on the English electoral list?

Once you have verified that you are not on the list, download the form “Notice to the Anglophone school board – Option or revocation of option regarding the exercise of voting rights”, which you can find on the EMSB website. It will only take a few minutes.

Once the form is completed, please return or mail the signed copy directly to the Reception of the School Board c/o Me Nathalie Lauzière, Secretary-General at 6000, Fielding, Montreal (Quebec), H3X 1T4. You can also email the signed form to nlauziere@emsb.qc.ca

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The procedure to get onto the list will only take a few minutes. Please take the time to do so whether you live in the Greater Montreal Area or other parts of the province.

And let me end on this note: let us enjoy the last few election-free days of summer as much as we can. The weather is beautiful and the sun is out.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of WestmountMag.ca or its publishers.

Feature image: English Montreal School Board headquarters, by Arkroyale, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Kirk Kelly is a Ward 3 parent who served on the governing board of Roslyn Elementary and was part of the team that created the original enrichment program at that school.