'A huge win' for English school boards: Court strikes down parts of Quebec's Bill 40
CTV
A group representing English-language school boards in Quebec is applauding a Superior Court judgment that struck down several sections of the province's controversial Bill 40.
A group representing English-language school boards in Quebec is applauding a Superior Court judgment that struck down several sections of the province's controversial Bill 40.
In a ruling issued Wednesday, Justice Sylvain Lussier said English school boards in Quebec have the right to manage their own schools and that the bill went too far to try to abolish them.
Bill 40 was adopted in the National Assembly in 2020 and turned the school boards into school service centres. Less than six months later, parts of the bill that applied to English boards were suspended by Quebec Superior Court while a legal challenge made its way through the court.
After hearing the case on its merits, the court ruled in favour of the English school boards by striking down parts of the law.
"We are extremely pleased that our rights to control and manage our school have been recognized and respected with this decision," said Russell Copeman, executive director of the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA), one of the groups that launched the legal challenge.
"We hope that the Government of Quebec will decide not to appeal this clear decision that is, again, a clear victory for the control and management rights of the English-speaking community, based on section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms."
Questions to the Ministry of Education were referred to the Ministry of Justice, which told CTV News that it would need some time to review the decision before deciding whether the government will appeal.