There's no urgency for school board elections: English groups

Rosemary Murphy was logging off her computer early Saturday morning when she received an email that made her feel sick to her stomach.

After cancelling school board elections in October because of the coronavirus pandemic, Quebec's education minister unexpectedly reversed course and announced Friday night that elections would be held five days before Christmas.

Murphy, the returning officer for the Lester B. Pearson School Board, said she fears the decision could expose poll workers and voters to COVID-19.

“I would advise him to be a humanitarian and call the election for next spring because of the pandemic,” Murphy said in an interview.

“I would say everyone on the English side was very shocked with this (news). Even with masks, I don't think it's safe.”

Although she has recruited about 45 people to work during the advance poll on Dec. 13, she's struggling to find enough staff to work on Dec. 20.

“We need about 80 to 90 workers,” she said.

“The regular poll workers aren't putting their names forward this year because of the pandemic. My kids said: ` You aren't going back there,' but I told them I was hired to be the returning officer.”

Before the election was suspended in October, Murphy's office had received calls from seniors who are keen to vote but are fearful of getting COVID-19.

“I was told there was a lady of 102 who wants to vote, but she was definitely not coming out,” she said.

At the Pearson board, voters will elect a chairperson and fill three seats on the council of commissioners.

When Quebec abolished school boards in the French public system in February, it justified the decision by citing the low voter turnout rate of 4.87 per cent during the 2014 election.

English school boards haven't been abolished because they're challenging the government's new law, Bill 40, in court.

Although the turnout rate in the English system was 16.8 per cent in 2014, there's a group of keen anglophones who support school boards, Murphy said.

“Regardless of how old we are, regardless of whether we have children in the system, we are paying taxes to the school boards and people are telling me it's their right to vote,” she said.

Groups representing Quebec's English community are seeking the support of Montreal's public health director and opposition parties to pressure Quebec to rescind the decision.

Education Minister JeanFrançois Roberge has justified the decision by saying public health officials had signed off on the plan, providing health protocols are followed.

But when reporters questioned Horacio Arruda on Tuesday, the provincial director of public health said he's only in favour of holding elections during the pandemic “if they're necessary.”

“If elections ... are not necessary, is it worth putting all that process in place?” he asked.

Montreal's public health department said the decision to hold school elections is up to the education department.

“If the ministry chooses to go ahead with school board elections, we are confident that school boards in Montreal will be able to put in place the necessary measures to hold elections safely,” spokesperson Eric Forest said.

The Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) maintains that holding a vote for the positions of board chair at the Pearson and Sir Wilfrid Laurier school boards is not urgent.

The current occupants, Noel Burke at the Pearson board and Paolo Galati at the Laurier board, will remain in place until elections are held.

“There is no urgency to proceed while all the races are in red zones,” said Russell Copeman, QESBA'S executive director.

Public health officials have also given the go-ahead for a mayoral election next month in the Quebec City suburb of L'ancienne Lorette, following the death of its mayor last April.

“There is a vacancy there,” Copeman argued. “That's a big difference.”

Colleagues in the French public school network were aghast when they learned of Roberge's decision.

“They were as flummoxed as we were,” Copeman said.

He suggested that Quebec could be attempting to undermine the election prior to an April court case that could decide the future of English school boards.

“If they can show community is not attached to these institutions with anemic turnout rates and acclamations, I think it's probably in their interest to do so,” he said. “It's bad for democracy and terribly cynical.”

Galati, who is running for re-election as chair of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier Board, said he was flabbergasted by Roberge's flipflop.

“Holding an election five days before Christmas in the middle of a global pandemic is not only wrong, it's unethical,” said Galati, adding that his board needs to find about 187 people to work on election day in the school board's vast territory, which covers 35,000 square kilometres from Laval to the Laurentians and Lanaudière.

“We are the size of Belgium,” he said.

Parents have contacted him asking why an election is being held during the pandemic, as cases and deaths increase.

“They want to know why the government is moving so quickly,” he said. “It's sabotaging voter turnout.”