Students in Limbo Over Bill 104 Remedy
Published by Cynthia Turpin on 2010-03-08
by BRENDA BRANSWELL
As the Quebec government mulls over a remedy for Bill 104, some Grade 6 students at English private schools are waiting to find out whether they'll be able to attend English high school in the fall.
The only message that families have received from the province since the Supreme Court ruled in October that Bill 104 was unconstitutional has been: "Do not apply for your letters of (English school) eligibility because we will not proceed with them," recounted Christopher Shannon, headmaster at Lower Canada College.
"That's all they've been told," Shannon said. "This is not the spirit of the judgment.
"We don't want to whine. We would like a response." The Quebec Association of Independent Schools says there are 39 Grade 6 students in its seven fully private elementary schools in Montreal who wouldn't have been allowed to continue in English school under Bill 104. That's because its schools are all partially subsidized at the high school level and, therefore, subject to Bill 101.
Bill 104 closed a loophole in Bill 101, which some people who weren't admissible to English school had used to gain that right. They did so by attending a private unsubsidized English school for at least a year.
With Bill 104 struck down, the QAIS argues that the majority of those students, who spent their elementary years at its schools, should be allowed into English high school. "That's what we're calling for and that's what we're assuming," said spokesperson Jonathan Goldbloom.
The Conseil supérieur de la langue française recommended Bill 101 be extended to all private schools, closing the loophole.
Lawyer Frédéric Massé represents 15 families whose children fit that category. All of them would be eligible for English school under standards set by the Supreme Court, Massé contends.
A hearing for six of the families, whose children are nearing the end of elementary education, is set for next month before an administrative tribunal, he said.
All his clients "are fully confident their situation respects what the Supreme Court says," Massé said. "So we really don't see how the Quebec government could restrict their rights to send their children (to) English (schools)." In the Supreme Court case, almost all the claimants' files were to be sent back to Quebec's Education Department for review. The court said that the evidence currently in the files was insufficient for it to determine whether the children were eligible for instruction in English.
"The position that the government has taken is that they wanted to wait and take a unified approach that would apply not only to the 24 cases that are pending, but also would be reflected in the new legislation," said Brent Tyler, the claimants' lawyer.
"That is logically a credible argument.
"My absolute stipulation has been that decisions be made in a timely way so that we can challenge refusals in time for September 2010," Tyler said.
The Quebec government has said it will make known its intentions by the end of spring.
bbranswell@ thegazette.canwest.com
