Renata Isopo

Recent published revelations, by journalist Bernard Drainville, of leaks from anonymous government sources pointing to the retention of English school boards by the Legault administration, even if it’s just the preservation of the elected dimension of these boards, have done little to dispel people’s concerns over the nagging problem of dysfunctional school boards, such as English Montreal (EMSB). Public debate, in recent months, has been dominated by a widely held and articulately expressed view that if the English school boards are indeed to be retained, they will require major internal reforms and modifications of practices, specified in law, as to how they will function.  

In a telephone interview with The Laval News (TLN), Christopher Skeete –  Sainte-Rose (Laval) MNA and Parliamentary Assistant to Premier Legault for Relations with English-Speaking Quebecers, expressed alarm and disappointment over the unsubstantiated leaks from the anonymous sources revealing that the government intends to retain the elected dimension of Quebec’s nine English school boards. Mr. Skeete reaffirmed that the Projet de loi, which is soon to  be deposited in the National Assembly, will have provisions for general internal reforms for all of Quebec’s 72 school boards, implying that the plan is to abolish elections for the 60 French boards, and three multi-language boards. He said he could not specify what the internal reforms would entail, but he did confirm that some form of the Service Center model would definitely come into play for all school boards, French, English or other.

“The Council of Ministers is being duly consulted. We have a pretty good idea of where we’re going,” said Mr. Skeete, adding that the Bill is presently being tabled, and thus he could not comment on what it will eventually look like in its final form, although he did say that no (official) definitive public statement has been made as to where the government is going with its intention to enact school board reform.

Affirmation of the rights of the English community

Mr. Skeete spoke optimistically about the work-in-progress for school board reforms currently being conducted by Education Minister Jean-François Roberge, but expressed serious concerns over the negative fall-out from the recent anonymous revelations.

“The conclusions drawn are very distressing and there’s lots of speculation.  People think they’re getting shafted. Our intention is to respect the English community. There’s discussion with various English community groups concerning the make-up of the (proposed) service centers and their operation,” Mr. Skeete specified, summing up, in a nutshell, that “universal suffrage (elections) is of great importance to the community, we’ll guarantee the best results for our kids.”

Asked about the current crisis at the English Montreal School Board (EMSB), Mr. Skeete pointed out that Education Minister Roberge’s investigation was a long time coming, but is totally unrelated to the Projet de loi aimed at school board reform in general.

School Board reform, whatever form it takes, is essential to the proper governance of 2,670 public schools – 1,895 primary, 576 general or professional secondary, 199 combined primary/secondary. Billions of dollars are pumped into these schools, not to mention the sizable number of semi-private schools also generously funded, in part, by the public purse.

Martin C. Barry

During her stop at the Riviera Residence for its 60^th anniversary, Quebec Senior Citizens’ Minister Marguerite Blais made a pledge that could see her losing her head – symbolically that is – if she is unable to make good on a promise before the next provincial election.

Referring to the fact the provincial government emphasizes home care for seniors, although a small percentage of seniors are living in residences or long-term care facilities, Blais said, “We want to change the model.

“But believe me,” she added. “If I don’t succeed in doing such that in the next three years there are 2,600 new places in 30 senior citizens’ residences, my first name will be Marie-Antoinette.”

Blais served as Minister for Seniors in the Couillard Liberal government, before leaving the PLQ and winning the National Assembly seat for Prévost while running in the 2018 election for the CAQ.

She said the very reason she got into politics in the first place was “to take care of caregivers and seniors.”

Martin C. Barry

Something old, something new. Something borrowed, something … blue?

At incumbent Marc-Aurèle-Fortin Liberal Yves Robillard’s campaign headquarters last week, that colour was furthest from the minds of his supporters and volunteers in a riding that has voted NDP and Bloc Québécois in the past 15 years – but never Conservative.

An emerging theme

However, before the starting shot for the 2019 federal election campaign is fired, old, new and borrowed could well become part of a Liberal campaign theme leading towards an anticipated Oct. 21 voting date. That at least is what seemed to emerge during a gathering for the opening of Robillard’s election headquarters.

As of last Thursday, Robillard and his campaign team were still waiting for the election call to be made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Elections Canada has recommended the Oct. 21 date, although the final decision is the prerogative of the Prime Minister.

Old posters recycled

In the meantime, Robillard, who is seeking his second term after first being elected in 2015, was using old printed campaign materials left over from his first run four years ago.

These included a large poster of the Liberal Party leader taped prominently into the Robillard headquarters front window – with one important difference: the number 5 in “Trudeau 2015” was conspicuously cut out. After all, this is presumably an entirely new ball game.

According to Robillard, campaign spending rules forbid advertising for the current election before the electoral period has been officially declared open. However, he added, a loophole allows old posters and other materials left over from previous campaigns to be employed.

And what’s new?

In terms of the new, a sneak peek of some of the 2019 Liberal campaign material was to be seen inside the Robillard campaign HQ. On a wall, for instance, Liberal Party items promoting “Team Trudeau,” and campaign year 2019 – with the number zero formed into a distinctive profile of Justin Trudeau’s head – were also on display.

Regarding the old, Robillard suggested during an interview with The Laval News that the Liberals may be rehashing the central campaign theme they used in 2015: giving a break to the middle-class.

Middle-class rerun

“I think the main issue for us is certainly the middle-class,” he said, noting the efforts the Liberal government made in the past four years to ease the financial burden of young families, senior citizens and others in need through tax breaks and subsidies.

Like many other Liberal candidates, Robillard is also emphasizing that the Liberals created an estimated one million jobs since 2015, while managing to keep the economy running satisfactorily.

Riding’s Québécois roots

As Robillard pointed out during the interview, the demographics of Marc-Aurèle-Fortin are somewhat different from other ridings in western Laval. While a riding such as Laval-Les Îles is now predominantly multicultural, he noted that the electorate in Marc-Aurèle-Fortin is still made up of around 78 per cent French-speaking people with Québécois roots.

“Yes, we have a number of communities here, such as the Lebanese, Greek and others,” he said. “But it’s not the same as in other nearby ridings. In the others there are many more people of different nationalities, like Greeks, Lebanese and Italians. But in this riding there are more who have Québécois roots, although many are bilingual.”