Be sure to be on the English
school board electors list

Call on the premier, education minister and your MNAs to hold a mail-in ballot school board election

By Irwin Rapoport

June 29, 2021

The 2020-2021 academic year has come to an end. There is no need for me or others to tell you what a scary, wild, and tumultuous ride it has been, with the second and third waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rollout of the vaccines.

The key element is that parents, teachers, principals, and officials from the school boards and service centres put in an outstanding effort to educate our elementary and high school students, be it in class or online. This was a herculean task. There were times when nerves were frayed, and patience stretched to the limit, but we got through it and the summer season is upon us.

… parents, teachers, principals, and officials from the school boards and service centres put in an outstanding effort to educate our elementary and high school students, be it in class or online.

Nor has it been an easy year for students, who would have much preferred to have experienced a normal school year and enjoyed the full range of school life – hanging out with friends, participating in extra-curricular activities and field trips, learning as much as they could and interacting with teachers – and having that freedom of movement to explore their world and better understand and comprehend new feelings and emotions.

Some students expressed their appreciation for the efforts of their parents and teachers. Some have been silent or displayed anger due to a situation they cannot control or fully comprehend. It is understandable, and they deserve our sympathy. However, we know that in their heart of hearts, they are grateful. As we all know, being a kid, especially during the teenage years, is far from easy at the best of times. Imagine being a child or teenager during the Black Death, WWII Europe, and Africa at the height of the HIV crisis, and all the deaths taking place daily.

On the bright side, the provincial government is allowing graduation ceremonies at elementary and high schools. These will bring back partial normality and are greatly appreciated by all concerned.

Of course, while we enjoy the salad days of summer, we can, to a certain extent, prepare for the 2021-2022 academic year and avoid the August rush. But without question, let us enjoy the summer to the fullest extent possible.

Based on the rolling out of the COVID-19 vaccinations – I received my second shot a few days ago – there is a possibility that the elections could resume in late summer or the fall. Elections will be taking place in several boards across Quebec, such as the English Montreal School Board, Lester B. Pearson School Board, and Sir Wilfred Laurier School Board. Candidates are vying for school commissioner positions and the position of chair of the board.

‘[school board] Elections will be taking place in several boards across Quebec, such as the English Montreal School Board, Lester B. Pearson School Board, and Sir Wilfred Laurier School Board.’

Based on the current English school board electoral list, more than 130,000 people are eligible to vote in various contests. Every vote cast will count, not only for the candidates but for the English community as a whole. Premier Francois Legault and his CAQ government, in their Superior Court arguments in defence of Bill 40, the legislation seeking to eliminate the constitutionally protected English school boards, claimed that low turnout in elections is proof that the community does not care about its school boards and the ability to manage and control its schools and educational institutions.

Here is the link for the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) and the nine boards that it represents. Each board has a link to a page regarding the school elections and how you can apply to be placed on the English school board electoral list.

Here is the link for the EMSB election page, which has only one election taking place in Ward 3 (Westmount/Southwest Montreal and downtown Montreal up to University Street). The link contains the form that one has to send in to be placed on the list. It is the standard form for members of the English-speaking community and those who qualify to be on the list.

Just because you no longer have children in the school system or sent your children to private schools or do not have children, you do pay school taxes, whether you own a home or condo, or rent an apartment. These taxes fund the school boards and education system, and the way they operate is a public concern.

Here is the link for the LBPSB selection page, which has voters deciding who will be the new chair and represent Wards 2, 3, and 4. The LBPSB election page provides more details compared to the EMSB page, but both contain the link for the application form to be on the list.

If you received a voter reminder card last fall from your school board, then you are on the list. If you did not, you have to formally ask to be placed on it. For decades, successive Quebec Liberal and Parti Quebecois governments automatically removed parents of students who graduated from English high schools from the voters’ list and automatically placed them on the French school board voters list. Graduating students were also placed on the French voters’ list.

‘If you received a voter reminder card last fall from your school board, then you are on the list. If you did not, you have to formally ask to be placed on it.’

These actions disenfranchise far too many voters but despite that, the turnout in the 2014 school board elections for the English sector was between 15 and 18 percent on average. Legault says this is low and is thus a reasonable excuse to eliminate the elected English school boards and replace them with service centres, which, as we know, are creatures of the provincial government and controlled by the ministry of education.

Don’t be fooled by the premier’s words. What he fails to say or condemn is that far too many provincial by-elections only had 18 to 20 percent voter turnouts at best. And yet, Legault accepts these turnouts as legitimate for the election of new MNAs. According to Legault and the CAQ, what is good for the goose, is not good for the gander. All I can say is O tempora, o mores!

Thus, with the summer before us and the possibility of a late summer/fall resumption of the school board elections, I urge you to register to be placed on the English school board electoral list and that you ask your friends and family to do the same. It merely requires downloading a form and mailing it to your school board. This action will be appreciated by the school boards and many community leaders who are fighting bills 21 and 40, and Bill 96, the proposed legislation to strengthen Bill 101.

Casting one’s ballot is a crucial aspect of our democracy and, as they say, if you don’t vote, you lose your right to complain. Voting is a crystal clear signal that you, as an individual, care about who governs, and about a wide variety of issues. It is paramount to demonstrate your concern to help ensure the continued existence of our English school boards.

Legault is counting on a low voter turnout and chose to hold the first two rounds of the postponed school board election as the second wave of COVID-19 was ramping up. He was intending to have government lawyers at the recent Quebec Superior Court case on Bill 40 tell the presiding judge that the turnout was low. Due to the rising number of daily infections and COVID-19 related deaths last fall, the elections were postponed to the great relief of many. The second vote was scheduled for late December, just days before the start of the Christmas holidays.

‘Voting is a crystal clear signal that you, as an individual, care about who governs, and about a wide variety of issues. It is paramount to demonstrate your concern to help ensure the continued existence of our English school boards.’

For the second resumption, the provincial government extended the opportunity to apply for mail-in ballots. During the first round, they could only be issued to those living in recognized seniors residences. In the second round, several categories were opened up to allow all voters to apply for mail-in ballots, with the main one being that a person may have come into contact with the actual COVID-19 germs, or an infected individual. Before the second postponement, many applied for mail-in ballots. The process, according to those who applied via the EMSB election office, was smooth and efficient. It merely required answering a few straightforward questions.

With all the new COVID-19 variants arising in various parts of the world, we have no idea of what the situation shall be like four to five months from now. A few months ago, due to the variants, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador held a mail-in ballot election in which 178,632 votes were cast.

Here is a link for the Wikipedia page for that election and this is the section explaining why a mail-in ballot was eventually decided upon:

Surge in COVID-19 cases during campaign

On February 8, the province confirmed its first case of community spread of COVID-19 since April 2020. Since the deadlines for voting early or by mail had already passed, it raised concerns about if the election should still go ahead as planned. Chief Electoral Officer Bruce Chaulk stated that no provisions existed that allowed people in isolation to vote, and that the election would proceed as intended.[45]

On February 9, PC candidate Damian Follett suspended in-person campaigning after his son tested positive for COVID-19.[46] On February 12, Follett announced that he had tested positive himself.[47] On the same day, PC candidate Rhonda Simms also suspended in-person campaigning after an individual who had visited her headquarters later tested presumptive positive.[48]

On February 10, Elections NL announced that there would be a ‘drive-thru’ voting option for the increasing number of people who were in self-isolation.[49] However, this option was later scrapped, as it went against a medical advisory which stated that those self-isolating should not leave their property.[50] On February 11, Chief Electoral Officer Bruce Chaulk issued a letter requesting that party leaders meet with Lieutenant Governor Judy Foote to discuss delaying the election.[51] Chaulk announced later that day that in-person voting would be delayed to a later date on the Avalon Peninsula but would go ahead as planned elsewhere.[4] The following day, Chaulk announced that no in-person voting would take place soon after it was confirmed that the recent COVID-19 cases were the Variant of Concern 202012/01.[5]

A mail-in ballot for school board elections is very doable. We, as an English community, can easily send emails to the premier, the education minister and our MNAs, calling on them to demand that the provincial government automatically send out mail-in ballots to all electors. They may reject the demand, but we must put in the effort.

‘We, as an English community, can easily send emails to the premier, the education minister and our MNAs, calling on them to demand that the provincial government automatically send out mail-in ballots to all electors.’

For the November municipal elections, demands are being put forward for mail-in ballots to be issued to seniors below the age of 70. The municipal elections should also allow all electors to vote by mail, be it by ballots automatically sent to them, as is the case in many American states for federal elections, or by having a simple and efficient system to apply for a mail-in ballot. The software that allowed people to book appointments for their COVID-19 vaccines can be updated to let people request mail-in ballots.

Our students did their homework throughout the school year. It is time for us to match their actions by taking the time to complete two simple actions: 1) get onto the English school board voters list and 2) email your MNA and the premier and education minister to insist upon mail-in ballot school board elections. The ball is in our court. Let’s act decisively for the good of the community and future generations of students.

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: olia danilevich from Pexels

Irwin Rapoport is a freelance journalist and former school commissioner with the Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal (1990-1994). He is currently a candidate in Ward 3 for the English Montreal School Board elections.