Left in the Lurch
While many parents and children are preparing to return to school this fall, the parents of those children attending the former JP II, especially those who were willing to take on the Western Quebec School Board and the Quebec Provincial Government over the constitutionality of closing their high school with a court action, have good reason to call into question the manner in which they have been treated by those who are supposed to work to ensure that their constitutional rights to have their children educated in English are respected.
First, by engineering a public consultation that culminated with a decision to close Jean Paul II with as little as sixty days notice, the WQSB made sure that the window of opportunity to contest the decision was so small that the parents in Campbell’s Bay were effectively denied the opportunity to bring their case before the courts in order to fend off the closure of their high school.
Second, lawyer Brent Tyler displayed highly questionable behavior by informing the parents of his intention to file an injunction and then for a yet to be identified reason did not do so. At the very least, these parents deserved either a phone call or an email to let them know that the previously discussed action would not be forthcoming.
All things considered, it is imperative for the English-speaking communities in Quebec to show solidarity when confronting problems that affect us all. Faced with a significant demographic decline, the English public education system will be hard pressed to keep schools open and to provide educational opportunities comparable to what is found in the Francophone schools.
Already, four other schools in the region have been identified for possible closure in the “strategic” plan recently adopted by the WQSB. Hopefully, the fate of these schools will be decided by a process that treats the parents and children of the schools in question as fully valued and respected members of the English-speaking community within our region.
Brian Gibb
Executive Director
Regional Association of West Quebecers
Submitted to the Equity August 30th, 2006