Montreal, May 10, 2023 – The Quebec English School Boards Association’s (QESBA) Executive Committee met today to discuss the implications of Bill 23, the latest school governance reform, on the constitutional rights of our community to control and manage our education system.
The government introduced Bill 23 last week in Québec City, which empowers the Government of Québec to appoint the directors general of school boards, and authorizes the Minister of Education to annul decisions of school boards “not consistent with targets, objectives, policy directions and directives the Minister has established”.
“Certain provisions of Bill 23 are manifestly unconstitutional. We will spend the next weeks trying to convince MNAs to modify Bill 23 in order to fully respect our constitutional rights. However, if the bill remains in its present form the QESBA will have no other option than to quickly initiate a legal challenge of the legislation,” declared QESBA President Dan Lamoureux.
QESBA is the voice of English public education in Québec and represents 100,000 students in over 300 elementary, high schools, and adult and vocational centres across Québec.