QESBA asks Minister of Education to go back to the drawing board on Service Centre logos

Montreal, June 18, 2020 – The Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) strenuously objects to the Ministry’s programme d’identification visuelle and the trousses de signalisation for new school service centres logos.

QESBA feels compelled to remind the Minster of Education and the Ministry of Education that despite the indiscriminate reference in a general mailing to 69 school boards claiming that June 15^th is the date by which they become school service centres, according to the law, the nine English-language school boards remain school boards until November 5^th.

“This repeated and obstinate refusal, in various communications from the Ministry of Education, to recognize that we have two linguistically distinct educational systems in Québec, with two distinct governance models and different dates whereby Bill 40 comes into force, borders on the absurd,” said QESBA President Dan Lamoureux.

“Furthermore, in accordance with the provisions of Bill 40, the QESBA is recommending to its members that no changes be made to the visual identification, internal identification or electronic mail addresses of English-language school boards before November 5^th. This date could, of course, be delayed depending on the outcome of the interlocutory injunction and judicial review that the QESBA has applied for in Québec Superior Court regarding Bill 40,” continued the President.

“Secondly, the QESBA objects to the standardization of visual identification and the root address @gouv.qc.ca for electronic mail to be used by future school service centres. The public English-language school system has a proud history, which predates Confederation, and consistently high and remarkable results for its students. The English-speaking Community of Québec identifies closely with the few remaining public institutions founded by and under the control and management by the community. English school boards also correspond to strong regional identities and attachments. The individual, personalized identification of our school boards is a reflection of the identities of our boards and is an important element in this attachment and connection to our communities.

All of this community, regional and even local identity and personality is negated by the Ministry’s new standardized programme d’identitification visuelle, imposed by the Minister with, yet again, no prior consultation. “The QESBA has asked the Ministry of Education to go back to the drawing board and work with the elected leadership of English school boards to find an acceptable visual identification program,” concluded the President.
QESBA is the voice of English public education in Québec and represents 100,000 students in 340 elementary, high schools, and adult and vocational centres across Québec.