English school boards to challenge Bill 40
On May 15 the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) filed an application for judicial review regarding the constitutionality of Bill 40, the provincial government’s education governance reform bill.
The legal challenge also includes an interlocutory injunction to exempt Quebec’s nine English-language school boards from the application of Bill 40 pending a judgment on its constitutional validity. The bill would greatly affect the way the upcoming school board elections, scheduled for Nov. 1 would play out.
At Tuesday evening’s Eastern Townships School Board (ETSB) Council of Commissioners meeting, the board adopted a resolution in support of the legal filing. The resolution also mandated external lawyers so the ETSB could become a co-applicant in the constitutional challenge to Bill 40.
Last week Marina Massawippi owner Alex Marcotte packed up his rental boats, docks and boat launches and left the 11-acre beachfront property after contract negotiations with the Massawippi Regional Park Board (La régie du Parc régional Massawippi) went south.
“They wanted the whole pie,” Marcotte said, explaining the régie wanted to increase rent and take away two revenue streams on a one-year deal with no guarantee. The régie wanted to claim the revenue from the parking lot and the boat launches, he explained.
The property was sold four years ago to the régie by les Pères Servites for roughly $1.5 million.
While five municipalities (Ayer’s Cliff, Hatley Township, Sainte-catherine-de-hatley, Hatley, North Hatley) make up the régie, North Hatley opted out of the land purchase, which resulted in Ayer’s Cliff assuming two-fifths of the cost.
Rather than take on the management of the beach, in May of 2017 the régie signed a three-year contract with Marcotte, who paid $15,000 for the concession of the property as well as $10,000 in rent his first year of operation, and $15,000 for the two following years.
According to Marcotte, he invested roughly $400,000 in the operation, installing boat slips for locals to dock,