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| Government must recognize English public schools as allies, not adversaries | | | Montreal, June 2009 Impending Bill 104 decision on English school access:
By Debbie Horrocks The current government of Quebec, like every one before it, will soon face another inevitable test on how to maintain its central obligation to protect and promote the French character of Quebec while honoring its legal and moral obligations to Quebec’s English-speaking minority. That test will come with a pending decision from Canada’s Supreme Court on whether or not Bill 104 is legal. This law, enacted 25 years after the Charter of the French Language was adopted in 1977, eliminates the right of students who have attended unsubsidized private English schools in Quebec to then gain access to English public schools. The case goes to the heart of how Quebec’s English-speaking minority can co-exist and contribute to a predominantly French Quebec. The answer will come in the response of this government to the eventual ruling. The Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) intervened before the Supreme Court of Canada last December to argue that Bill 104 is unconstitutional. We did so to ensure the long term survival of the institution of English public schooling in the province. We are optimistic that the Court will strike down the law. Should it not, however, the future of our English public school network could be irreparably compromised. If the Court does strike down the law, it is our hope and expectation that the government will move swiftly and deliberately to implement the ruling. QESBA insisted in Court, and we reiterate now, that the government of Quebec can demonstrate leadership, vision and responsibility by exploiting this opportunity to honor the two obligations noted above. In doing so, it would properly recognize Quebec’s English public school network as an ally, not an adversary in the quest to strengthen the French language of Quebec. That is the reality of Quebec’s English public schools today. Our fundamental role in maintaining a strong and vital English community presence and partnership in Quebec is only matched by our determination to render the graduates of our schools fluent in the French language. For more than a generation, Quebec’s English school boards have been designing and implementing French second-language programs that go far beyond the requirements of the Quebec Education Program. Our schools were the birthplace of a French immersion model that is now duplicated in countries across the world. The students who enter our schools are not circumventing Quebec’s language law; in fact, they are respecting the central objective of it. If this essential institution of English public schooling is to truly contribute to the future of Quebec, then Quebec must contribute to the future of this essential institution. The resolution of language-related questions is never simple; that is a given in Quebec. The answer, however, is sometimes easier than it appears. QESBA estimates that the striking down of Bill 104 would have the effect of opening access to English public schools to some 500 students each year. That number is enormously significant to a school system facing chronically-declining enrolment, a birthrate lower than that of its francophone counterparts and a continuing trend towards outmigration. The consequent loss of students to the French school network is proportionately modest. Compromise always involves some cost. When it works, compromise reconciles two legitimate priorities in a mutually beneficial way. This compromise works.Inevitably, there will be suggestions that the government enact new legislation to circumvent the Court decision. Some will allege that any concession to English school access is automatically threatening to the French language and that this is just an incremental step towards the dismantling of The Charter of the French Language. QESBA expects that the Court will have rejected such arguments. We certainly do and we trust that public opinion will follow. Our association has been told by successive Premiers and Education Ministers that our English public school system is a vital institutional component of Quebec society. QESBA now asks that these words of inclusion, fairness and equity be matched by deeds. By implementing an eventual Court decision striking down Bill 104, this government will send a signal of confidence in Quebec’s future and a deeply-appreciated message of our valued role in it. Debbie Horrocks is the President of the Quebec English School Boards Association. | | |
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