Response to the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) regarding school board elections

As a candidate for chair (again) of the Lester B. Pearson school board, allow me to put in perspective the “QESBA open letter to Minister of Education Jean-francois Roberge” ( The Record, Nov. 16). Basically, QESBA is complaining about the government’s decision to finally hold the anglophone school board elections, which have been postponed twice already (Nov. 4, 2018 ; Nov 1, 2020) to December 19 & 20, 2020.

They claim holding these elections during a pandemic is not conducive to school board democracy as very few people will show up - and besides, it’s a few days before Christmas.

Now, let’s reel back to a major reason the election of Nov.1, 2020 was postponed indefinitely.

On October 6, 2020, APPELE-QUÉBEC and the spokesperson of the Quebec Community Groups Network ( QCGN) wrote the following on the former’s Facebook page:

“it is time for the Quebec government to delay school board elections. It is not safe for Quebecers to go to the polls - which are often held in elementary and high schools that our children will be frequenting the next day.”

There will be no children in schools for at least two weeks after the election on Dec. 20 because of the traditional holiday season.

The government had no choice but to pick the earliest possible safe date because - as the article indicates - there are chairperson seats to fill as well. This is very significant because under the present set up (not Bill 40) the chair has considerable influence.

For example, my platform calls for dropping membership to the QESBA, which claims it is fighting for minority-language educational rights by opposing the government’s school board reform Bill 40.

Presently, it is challenging Bill 40, at the courts, using hundreds of thousands of precious education dollars. The Bill, like Liberal Bill 86 , has absolutely nothing to do with LANGUAGE - it is a GOVERNANCE issue. It gives English schools greater decision-making powers, which will be made in English.

The QESBA bases their argument on a decision (Mahé) made in the courts in Alberta in 1990.

This is Quebec 2020! Time to get with it!

Bring on the elections!