Campbell’s Bay parents challenge education system with charter
Group argues rights are being infringed
Leah Miller
Equity Editor
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Campbell’s Bay parents challenge education system with charter
Group argues rights are being infringed
Leah Miller
Equity Editor
Campbell’s Bay • The Western Quebec School Board has been ordered to stop the
decision to close the high school sector of St. John’s/John Paul II school in
Campbell’s Bay this fall. A group of parents who have children attending the
school (JPII) have hired successful anglo-rights lawyer Brent Tyler to take on
the case defending the group’s minority language educational rights under the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The board will be served this week with
two proceedings on behalf of the group — one to
order a status quo be put over the board’s ruling made on June 27 to close the
secondary level of JPII (a motion for an interlocutory injunction), and a motion
for permanent declaratory and injunctive relief, which will order the school
board to either maintain the school at the same level of funding and resources
as in the 2005-2006 school year, or at another level the court may consider
appropriate, such as a new provincial funding formula for the school. “It will
be filed the middle of next week,” Patti Dunlop Normandeau, chair of JPII’s
governing board, told The Equity Friday. Tyler, who is based in Montreal, sent a
letter to the school board (WQSB) notifying them of the injunction Friday.
Normandeau is joined by four other petitioners, George Black, Garry Levesque,
Helen Levesque and Doreen Payette.They say their minority language educational
rights under section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are being
violated by the board forcing their kids to attend school at Pontiac High School
in Shawville.The decision to move the secondary students out of Campbell’s Bay
was made at the WQSB’s Council of Commissioners meeting June 27, where 13
commissioners voted for the motion, four against and one abstained. The WQSB
also agreed to move Pontiac’s adult education and vocational training into the
Campbell’s Bay school in August 2007.The decisions, amongst others made in
surrounding areas, were based on the limited funding the WQSB will receive as
enrollment to schools decline. Because the WQSB’s decision is to take effect this
coming September, the motion for an interlocutory injunction is being rushed to
the Superior Court for the District of Hull. The injunction asks that status quo
remain until a decision has been made on the broader issue — that parents of
students at JPII are having their rights infringed due to the limited resources
the WQSB is receiving for education from the Government of Quebec. First case in
Quebec. The motion for permanent declaratory and injunctive relief is based on
the facts that as right-holders under section 23 of the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms, the petitioners have the right to have their children
receive primary and secondary instruction in English in Quebec. This is first
time the court will be faced with this argument in Quebec. The motion also
declares that there are a sufficient number of right- holders in the area of
Campbell’s Bay to justify an English language secondary school in that community
and therefore the WQSB’s decision to close JPII is inconsistent with the
charter. The motion also orders the WQSB to order the Minister of Education,
Recreation and Sports and the Attorney General of Quebec to provide the public
funds necessary for maintaining operation of JPII, on such terms and conditions
as the court may consider appropriate in the circumstances. The plan came about
after the WQSB’s final decision was made, when a group of 19 parents met with
representatives from the Regional Association of West Quebecers (RAWQ) in the
SADC Community Futures building in Campbell’s Bay July 5.“Brian Gibb (of RAWQ)
was at the meeting when we met with parents,” said Normandeau. “He said we have
rights as Canadian citizens and a right to have our kids educated in our
community, too. ”Gibb, executive-director of RAWQ, met with the parents who were
interested in finding out about their rights, along with Tyler. “There are some
pretty fundamental issues at stake,” said Gibb. “The Regional Association of
West Quebecers is playing the role of informing parents that they are rights
holders, and that there may be an infringement on those rights. ”Gibb said that
Tyler will be arranging a meeting as soon as possible to meet with a judge at
the Quebec Superior Court. “People have decided to contest the decision of the
school board in this manner,” said Gibb. “The injunction was filed to keep the
school open for the fall while they go to trial to answer a larger question, a
charter challenge, saying that presently, without any boundary changes, there
are a sufficient number of students to keep the school open. ”Normandeau said
she felt the parents’ rights are being violated because they are the English
minority in Quebec. “We don’t believe the decision was right,” she said. “We
have the right to quality of education. ”Specifically, section 23(3) of the
charter states that the right of citizens of Canada under subsections (1) and
(2) to have their children receive primary and secondary school instruction in
the language of the English or French linguistic minority population of a
province a)applies wherever in the province the number of children of citizens
who have such a right is sufficient to warrant the provision to them out of
public funds of minority language instruction; and b) includes, where the number
of those children so warrants, the right to have them receive that instruction
in minority language educational facilities provided out of public funds. “It
guarantees parents the constitutional right to have their child educated in
their community and in their language of choice where numbers warrant,”
explained Gibb. Gibb mentioned a case of precedent, Arsenault-Cameron v. Prince
Edward Island, in 2000 that was similar. “The government was forced to build a
new school for 43 students,” he said. “We’re not asking for a school to be
built, we are just saying that there are sufficient numbers attending and there
are in this region a sufficient number of students if the school is properly
funded. ”Although Normandeau understood that both schools (JPII and PHS) require
the same core subjects to be taught, she said that JPII could look into offering
a variety of optional courses, much like PHS offers a welding program.“We have
to have the same basic courses,” she said. “PHS has different courses, but there
is no reason why we can’t work towards that end.”New school learning structures
are requiring schools to offer three different branches of high school
education, one academic, one trades- oriented and one arts. “We are looking for
the Quebec government to come out with different funding — it’s not working this
way,” said Normandeau. “We’re not against PHS. If schools were funded properly
there would be no reason to close any school.”Gibb said more students would be
inclined to enroll in the Campbell’s Bay school if it were properly funded by
the provincial government. “The Western Quebec School Board made the decision,
but the government is responsible for funding and meeting the constitutional
rights of parents,” said Gibb, who added the whole situation is a depressing
trajectory for the English-speaking community.“We can’t blame it all on the school board,” said Normandeau. “We just feel they
didn’t make a good decision.”Gibb said the issue is really a problem created by
the provincial government. “By law the funding formula is set out by the
provincial government and it is the same formula for English school and for the
majority francophone schools,” said Gibb.Gibb said that alone was a cause for
concern, as at least 80 per cent of school board funding is determined by
enrollment. “As English minority people in the province of Quebec, there is
supposed to be funding out there — where is it going?” said Normandeau. “We are
standing up and saying it’s time for a change and we don’t want to put up with
it any more. ”Gibb said the fundamental question at hand was as important as the
actual closing of the school. “It’s a situation of the 900-pound gorilla of Bill
101 that does not permit immigrant children or francophones to enroll, but
allows anglos to go to French school,” said Gibb. “In looking at the case, the
closing of the school is a symptom of a much more longer and serious problem —
the underfunding of English-language schools.” Gibb said the outcome of the case
will apply to all Quebec schools. Normandeau said she understood the
provincial-wide impact this case could have on English education in Quebec. “It’s
an important issue, not just for us,” said Normandeau. “There is a much bigger
picture. It’s really important we all stand up and be accounted for. ”Normandeau
and her fellow petitioners will be applying to the Court Challenges Program of
Canada to cover the legal aid costs. “This has to be done fairly quickly to let
the kids here know,” said Normandeau. “We think that once they close the school
we can’t get them back. ”Once the injunction has been filed, the court has 10
days to respond. Normandeau said the fundamental rights legal proceedings may
take a lot longer. “But it’s worth it,” she said. “Somebody’s got to start it. It
affects a lot of people. ”She said she was excited the importance this case may
have on other schools in the province. “It will be a win-win situation,” she
said. “It will be good for people, schools and school boards. ”Normandeau says
she and others with a interest in keeping the school open, over 900 of which
have signed a petition in favour of keeping JPII open, now have to wait to see
if the injunction goes through. “It really could make a difference,” she said.
“How long is the elementary school lasting for? If we could get a funding
formula then our job is to entice people to move to Pontiac. It’s a true fight
for
Pontiac to survive.”
Copied with permission from
The Equity, July 19th, 2006, (819)647-2204 (819)647-2206 f
www.theequity.ca
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