The English Montreal School Board (EMSB) has successfully won two appeals after a judge upheld a Quebec Superior Court decision regarding Bill 96 on May 31.
Court of Appeal Justice Geneviève Marcotte rejected a challenge by the CAQ government to a Quebec Superior Court decision that provided EMSB with a partial stay of provisions of Bill 96 and the Charter of the French Language in April.
According to a press release, that ruling also benefited other English language boards and the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA).
“The fact that the Charter of the French Language requires English school boards to communicate exclusively in French when interacting with other English-speaking community organizations, including the QESBA and the English Parents’ Committee Association of Quebec, never made any sense,” said EMSB Chair Joe Ortona.
The EMSB’s requests to appeal the Superior Court decision that declared English language school boards to be “school service centres” was granted and will be heard by the Court of Appeal once the Superior Court has ruled on all EMSB challenges.
Ortona said he is pleased to see the injunction remain in place.
“We are English school boards, not school service centres like the French sector. Even the Office québécois de la langue française and the Attorney General of Quebec’s lawyer acknowledged that there were legal inaccuracies in the judge’s analysis on the question,” said Ortona.
Seven English school boards, as well as the QESBA, have joined EMSB’s court challenge.
EMSB is challenging Bill 96 because they claim it violates the English-speaking community’s right to manage and control its educational institutions under section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In the April ruling, the Superior Court had concluded that the term “school service centres” in Bill 96 applied to English-language school boards. However, English-language school boards are not subject to Bill 40 and therefore are not school service centres. Bill 40, An Act to amend mainly the Education Act with regard to school organization and governance, would have transformed English language school boards into English-language school service centres. The nine boards were granted a stay from Bill 40 in 2020, which was confirmed by three judges of the Court of Appeal. Last August the Superior Court declared various provisions of the legislation unconstitutional and an appeal on the merits will likely be heard in 2025.
Ortona explained that although the court system may be a lengthy process, the partial stay is an important development.
“Let me be clear: the EMSB continues to embrace the French language, having pioneered the French immersion program. Winning a stay is an important development, to avoid suffering irreparable harm while we wait.”
The English Montreal School Board is the largest English publicly funded school board in Quebec.
Read More: EMSB latest Bill 96 appeal wins, after judge upholds ruling