ERODING CONTROL
The general consensus is that the Quebec government’s latest effort to reform school governance is a big improvement over its previous attempt. The highly controversial Bill 86, which would have eliminated school board elections as we know them, was scrapped last spring after the English-speaking community vowed a court challenge. Although it was not the bill’s intention, it appeared to threaten the constitutionally enshrined rights of the anglophone minority to run and manage its own schools.
Bill 86 was meant to address low voter turnout in school board elections and, less explicitly, alleged mismanagement at Quebec’s largest board, the Commission scolaire de Montréal. So last spring, the new education minister, Sébastien Proulx decided to go back to the drawing board.
The result is the less ambitious — and less problematic — Bill 105. Some of its proposals are positive, like giving parent commissioners full voting rights and allowing them to hold the position of vice-chair. But flaws persist.
Testifying at the hearings this week, the Quebec English School Boards Association and allied groups said Bill 105 is a much better piece of legislation. But they warned community control over English schools still risks being eroded, in at least two ways.
In the latest example of this government’s penchant for centralization, Bill 105 would boost the education ministry’s powers over school boards. For his part, Proulx has said what is intended is oversight — not interference.
Second, the bill would give the allocation committee made up of school board directors, principals and other experts more say, at the expense of elected commissioners. Right now, this committee of board employees advises commissioners about matters like whether schools should be closed or merged. But under Bill 105, elected commissioners would only be able to reject the committee’s recommendations with a two-thirds vote.
The fear is that this could result in the minister or appointed committee members overruling elected commissioners on existential decisions.
As with Quebec’s major restructuring of the health system under Bill 10, the English-speaking community is finding its role in the governance of its institutions shrinking as a by-product of measures adopted for other reasons.
Anglophone community groups have proposed amendments to address their concerns with Bill 105. It is to be hoped the government will be open to further modifications of its plans.
Meanwhile, another important test for minority-language education rights lies ahead: Quebec’s chief electoral officer is to report back on ways to increase voter turnout in school board elections. It will be important to ensure that those measures preserve, and even enhance, the community’s participation in and control over its schools in the years ahead.