Achi news desk-
The Montreal English School Board (EMSB) is celebrating what it calls a “significant victory” in court after a judge stayed parts of Quebec’s language laws that apply to English school boards across the province.
The Quebec Supreme Court’s ruling temporarily suspends provisions of the law that required English-language school boards to communicate exclusively in French in writing with English-language groups, such as the English Schools Association of Quebec or the English Parents’ Association of Quebec, according to a press release Thursday.
There is an exception for “situations where the partner or subcontractor of [the school board] requires the use of the official language,” according to the April 10 ruling.
The judge’s ruling is temporary until the court renders a verdict on the constitutionality of Bill 96.
EMSB chair Joe Ortona said his board should be “proud” of the latest ruling, which applies to all English school boards in Quebec.
“Although we offer rich programming in French in our schools and are committed to ensuring that our students have strong French language skills so they can live and work in Quebec, it is important to emphasize that we are an English-language school board and an English-speaking community institution developer,” he said in a statement.
The ruling stated that the EMSB challenged the law on behalf of the English minority population in Quebec and “act as spokespeople for people who enjoy the rights guaranteed by [article] 23 of the Canadian Charter”.
Judge Susan Kurchan wrote in her ruling that, “It is clear that the ban on English school boards from using English in their written communications, contracts and services with partners from the minority language community, in most cases, causes them serious and irreversible harm.”
Ortona said in an interview that he hoped the government would not appeal its decision.
“The important thing for us as an English-language school board is that we can continue to operate in English and it does not create a problem or has no legal consequences for us,” he told CTV News, adding that the law, as amended, was expensive for the school administration.
“It had a significant impact. We had to spend a huge amount of money on translation costs. We basically couldn’t function as an English school committee if even internally between us we had to send an email to each of them. Otherwise in French none of it made sense.”
Listen on CJAD 800: Quebec judge suspends parts of Act 96 relating to English schools
