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Montreal Gazette
4 days ago
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
More English school boards join legal challenge to Quebec budget cuts
Quebec Politics Eight school boards have now joined a legal challenge to cuts in Quebec's education sector imposed by the province earlier this year. The boards are challenging the validity of $570 million in cuts announced by the province in June, as well as a $530-million budgetary envelope added in recent weeks, because that envelope dictates to boards how they can spend their money. The Quebec English School Boards Association filed two legal challenges in court on Friday: one to challenge the province's actions and the other to force a pause on the cuts while their validity is decided in court. The QESBA confirmed that eight boards have now signed on to join the legal challenges. They are: English Montreal School Board Lester B. Pearson School Board New Frontiers School Board Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board Eastern Townships School Board Riverside School Board Central Quebec School Board Western Quebec School Board Earlier this week, the EMSB announced it would join the action. On Thursday evening, the LBPSB voted to also join the challenge. LBPSB chairperson Judy Kelley said in a phone interview on Friday that the cuts make it difficult for her board to balance its estimated $417-million budget. However, the board is more concerned that the new rules violate the constitutional rights of the province's English-speaking community to govern its public education system. 'We feel it is important for us to stand our ground and defend our minority rights,' Kelley said. She added that the new money isn't guaranteed by the province, because there are staffing targets imposed to access that money, so boards that don't meet those staffing targets would be penalized. 'It's very specific how you can use the money, and if you can't show you can fit that criteria, you don't receive the money,' she said. The new rules also impose that boards put in place cost-sharing mechanisms with other boards. Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board chairperson James Di Sano said the cuts amount to roughly $1 million in a $250 million annual budget for his board, but he's concerned that the new provincial money dictates the staffing decisions of each school board. 'It's more that we're joining in principle and in unity with our sister boards,' Di Sano said. 'We're going to fight for our right to govern our respective institutions.' QESBA president Joe Ortona, who is also the chairperson of the EMSB, said Friday he welcomed the other boards joining the challenge. 'I think it shows that we're all united and sending the same message to the minister that these cuts would be impossible to maintain without slashing services,' he said. He said QESBA has made numerous appeals to Education Minister Bernard Drainville to reverse the cuts, but has not had its calls returned. 'It's unfortunate it had to come to this.' Reacting to the news, the lobby group Uni-es pour l'école said it admired the courage of the boards. 'The budget cuts that were called for by Bernard Drainville in June already have had consequences in our schools,' group spokesperson Adam Pétrin wrote in an emailed statement. 'Even though the minister said he would roll them back somewhat, the schools already made the cuts. We can see it in the number of teachers that are still missing a couple of days from the start of the school year. There are some 20,000 more students and 1,400 fewer teacher positions. Our public schools need massive investments if we are to meet every student's needs.' The group is organizing a week of action from Aug. 25-29 and a protest day on Sept. 7. This story was originally published August 15, 2025 at 3:37 PM.
CTV News
5 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Lester B. Pearson School Board to join budget- cut lawsuit against Quebec government
Another English Montreal school board has joined a lawsuit against the Quebec government over budget cuts in education. The Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB) is the latest to join the Quebec English School Board (QESBA)'s legal challenge after a unanimous vote Thursday night. It threatened to sue the province in late July, and the English Montreal School Board (EMSB) voted to take part on Monday. QESBA is challenging Quebec's education budgetary rules and wants them stayed. Last June, LBPSB's Council of Commissioners also adopted a resolution calling on Quebec to reverse cuts. The province is demanding its education network slash a total of $567.7 million from the 2025-2026 fiscal year: English school boards and French-language service centres were asked to cut $510.8 million, and private schools an additional $56.9 million. The school boards taking part in the lawsuit say the budget measures imposed on the entire education system are 'unreasonable and unworkable,' preventing them from presenting balanced budgets. 'As minority language school boards in Canada, English school boards are entitled to specific rights — including the authority to manage and allocate resources in ways that best serve our communities,' said the LBPSB in a news release. LBPSB Chairperson Judy Kelley says the nine English school boards under QESBA were looking at how it could be beneficial for them to join the lawsuit separately as they are all uniquely affected. She says schools are still in the process of budget correcting after the announced cuts, followed by Education Minister Bernard Drainville reinvesting some $540 million into the system, with strings attached. 'There's very specific attachments to how we can use that money. It's a real juggling act to see if you can counter some of the original budgetary regulations and rules with the new money or not,' she told CTV News. She pushed back against Drainville saying the government has increased its spending in education in its provincial budget, saying the reality is more complex. For example, teachers signed a new collective agreement that enshrined salary increases so labour is more expensive, on top of inflation. School boards also manage buildings, handle maintenance, provide services for students in school, transportation, and more. 'Imagine in all the costs in running a school board. It's not just about paying a teacher's salary to be in a classroom,' she said. 'There's so much that goes on and, in every area, costs have risen, and the funds given do not begin to match what the costs are.' Kelley stresses that all budget compressions affect student services in one way or another. The school board is confident Quebec's courts will side with them in a timely decision 'that safeguards the future of [its] students.'
CTV News
12-08-2025
- Business
- CTV News
English Montreal School Board votes unanimously to sue Quebec over budget cuts
The English Montreal School Board (EMSB) intends to take the Quebec government to court over education budget cuts after adopting a unanimous motion. The English Montreal School Board (EMSB) intends to take the Quebec government to court over education budget cuts after adopting a unanimous motion. The board on Monday decided to join the legal challenge led by the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA). 'We would have to make harmful cuts that would have a detrimental impact on the future of the students. So, we didn't see any other choice,' said board chairperson Joe Ortona. The EMSB could be facing more than $20 million in financial losses, including nearly an $11-million budget cut and a $10-million penalty if the board fails to meet strict staffing caps imposed by the province. Ortona, who is also head of QESBA, says the province is imposing unrealistic conditions that are impossible to meet, adding that the cuts will affect students. 'I think of support services for special needs students. I think of, you know, music programs, arts programs, sports concentration programs, extra curricular activities, breakfast programs,' Ortona said. Ortona says the board does have a surplus of nearly $8 million from the previous school year, but the government says they're not allowed to use that money. Heidi Yetman, president of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers, says schools are already underfunded. 'And it sends a message that education is not important, that public education is not important because what it does is it pushes parents towards the private sector,' Yetman said. 'We're seeing this across Canada, in many provinces.' Her group applauds the EMSB's move. This comes in the wake of the province saying it would have to reduce funding by $570 million for the fall, but after some pushback Education Minister Bernard Drainville then said he is investing up to $540 million for the network. The Lester B. Pearson School Board told CTV News that it is analyzing the potential impacts of budget cuts and will do everything possible to not affect services to students. Other school boards have yet to react. Ortona says if they don't hear back from the province by Friday, it will officially file the court challenge. CTV News reached out to the education ministry for comment but did not hear back before publication time.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Her autistic son gets help from school support staff. Quebec's budget cuts could take it away
When Karine Desruisseaux's son was diagnosed with autism and ADHD earlier this year, she said his school's support staff was crucial in giving him the help he needed to thrive. "She takes care of the whole school when kids have issues they need to walk through," Desruisseaux said of the educational specialist who's been helping her seven-year-old son, Ben. Now, she worries the province's cuts to education could take that away. Two weeks before the end of the school year, at a time when school boards and school service centres are normally finalizing their budgets, administrators were told by the Education Ministry to reduce their spending by $570 million. While most administrators said it was too soon to give a breakdown of where and how the cuts would be applied, they warned of devastating consequences and said parents are right to be worried. Last year, the English Montreal (EMSB) and Lester B. Pearson (LBPSB) school boards, who together serve around 60,000 students on the island of Montreal, adopted balanced budgets of $438 million and $402 million, respectively. WATCH l Parents fear cuts to education will impact most vulnerable kids: Under the new government directive, the EMSB and the LBPSB are each expected to slash about $30 to $32 million from their annual budgets, according to Joe Ortona, president of the Quebec English School Boards Association. "That is an enormous amount," said LBPSB chairperson Judy Kelley. "The way that we're being asked to cut is really beyond anything that we've ever imagined the government would ask us to do." 'We just don't have that money,' school board says Kelley explained that school boards usually have to invest more than what the government earmarks for support services for students with special needs. "So that is where we would have to say, 'look, we just don't have that money, we don't have that discretionary spending,'" she said. In an email to CBC, the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM), the largest service centre in the province, said it was still in discussions with the government but that it would respect its 2025-26 workforce plan, which confirms regular positions for the coming year. "However, until further notice, positions left vacant following their posting will remain unfilled, absences will not be replaced, and project positions will be terminated," the email reads in French. Meanwhile, the Fédération des employées et employés de services publics (FEESP–CSN), which is made up of 37 unions representing around 35,000 support workers, painted a dire picture for the upcoming school year. The FEESP-CSN said that before the cuts were announced, the EMSB, for example, would have seen a net increase in the number of attendants for students with disabilities and special education technicians (TES). Now, it says the staffing plan calls for the elimination of 15 attendant positions against the creation of one new position, and the elimination of 16 TES positions against the creation of six. Cuts to support staff will impact all students According to Desruisseaux, any cuts to these services in terms of hours or positions not being filled would have ripple effects and impact everyone. For Ben, who has been learning to read by spending one-on-one time with a special aide and whose educational specialist has helped him regulate when overstimulated, it would mean potentially falling behind in his learnings and being more distracted and disruptive in the classroom. "Even if your child doesn't have special needs, the teacher needs those specialists to be able to do their job in class," Desruisseaux said. "And if you're thinking, 'well, I don't have any kids, I don't care.' Well, those kids will take care of you in the future." Danielle Desrosiers, another parent, is concerned about her daughter Carly. At age 10, she was diagnosed with nonverbal learning disorder and now, at 23, attends the Wagar Adult Education Centre, part of the EMSB. Her hope for Carly is that she will be able to find long-term employment and not have to rely on social assistance for the rest of her life. Desrosiers reiterated the same fears expressed by Desruisseaux and worried how a lack of funding often impedes vulnerable students from becoming contributors to society. For her part, Kelley said under the current scenario, the cuts could also affect sports programs, extracurriculars, enrichment programs and other programs aimed at keeping kids in school. "You have students who don't necessarily have academic concerns, but they may have engagement concerns," Kelley said. If those programs are cut, "then where are they left?" Calls growing for government to backtrack The office of Quebec's Education Ministry did not respond to CBC's request for comment but the minister has remained steadfast in his demand for school boards to meet their budgets. Still, some hope there's time to change the province's mind. A petition launched at the National Assembly is calling for the province to cancel the cuts. Meanwhile, two unions representing school support staff have filed a joint complaint with the Quebec ombudsman. In a news release, the unions state that cuts to the education system over the last year "have caused a major disruption in the system's ability to meet its legal obligations to students." As for parents, they say they will continue to plan protests and make noise on this issue so that students don't lose the services they need.
CBC
07-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Her autistic son gets help from school support staff. Quebec's budget cuts could take it away
Social Sharing When Karine Desruisseaux's son was diagnosed with autism and ADHD earlier this year, she said his school's support staff was crucial in giving him the help he needed to thrive. "She takes care of the whole school when kids have issues they need to walk through," Desruisseaux said of the educational specialist who's been helping her seven-year-old son, Ben. Now, she worries the province's cuts to education could take that away. Two weeks before the end of the school year, at a time when school boards and school service centres are normally finalizing their budgets, administrators were told by the Education Ministry to reduce their spending by $570 million. While most administrators said it was too soon to give a breakdown of where and how the cuts would be applied, they warned of devastating consequences and said parents are right to be worried. Last year, the English Montreal (EMSB) and Lester B. Pearson (LBPSB) school boards, who together serve around 60,000 students on the island of Montreal, adopted balanced budgets of $438 million and $402 million, respectively. WATCH l Parents fear cuts to education will impact most vulnerable kids: Quebec parents fear budget cuts will hit special needs students hardest 7 minutes ago Duration 2:20 Parents of children with disabilities are sounding the alarm as Quebec trims $570 million from its education budget. They fear cuts to specialists and support staff will deeply impact vulnerable students. Under the new government directive, the EMSB and the LBPSB are each expected to slash about $30 to $32 million from their annual budgets, according to Joe Ortona, president of the Quebec English School Boards Association. "That is an enormous amount," said LBPSB chairperson Judy Kelley. "The way that we're being asked to cut is really beyond anything that we've ever imagined the government would ask us to do." 'We just don't have that money,' school board says Kelley explained that school boards usually have to invest more than what the government earmarks for support services for students with special needs. "So that is where we would have to say, 'look, we just don't have that money, we don't have that discretionary spending,'" she said. In an email to CBC, the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM), the largest service centre in the province, said it was still in discussions with the government but that it would respect its 2025-26 workforce plan, which confirms regular positions for the coming year. "However, until further notice, positions left vacant following their posting will remain unfilled, absences will not be replaced, and project positions will be terminated," the email reads in French. Meanwhile, the Fédération des employées et employés de services publics (FEESP–CSN), which is made up of 37 unions representing around 35,000 support workers, painted a dire picture for the upcoming school year. The FEESP-CSN said that before the cuts were announced, the EMSB, for example, would have seen a net increase in the number of attendants for students with disabilities and special education technicians (TES). Now, it says the staffing plan calls for the elimination of 15 attendant positions against the creation of one new position, and the elimination of 16 TES positions against the creation of six. Cuts to support staff will impact all students According to Desruisseaux, any cuts to these services in terms of hours or positions not being filled would have ripple effects and impact everyone. For Ben, who has been learning to read by spending one-on-one time with a special aide and whose educational specialist has helped him regulate when overstimulated, it would mean potentially falling behind in his learnings and being more distracted and disruptive in the classroom. "Even if your child doesn't have special needs, the teacher needs those specialists to be able to do their job in class," Desruisseaux said. "And if you're thinking, 'well, I don't have any kids, I don't care.' Well, those kids will take care of you in the future." Danielle Desrosiers, another parent, is concerned about her daughter Carly. At age 10, she was diagnosed with nonverbal learning disorder and now, at 23, attends the Wagar Adult Education Centre, part of the EMSB. Her hope for Carly is that she will be able to find long-term employment and not have to rely on social assistance for the rest of her life. Desrosiers reiterated the same fears expressed by Desruisseaux and worried how a lack of funding often impedes vulnerable students from becoming contributors to society. For her part, Kelley said under the current scenario, the cuts could also affect sports programs, extracurriculars, enrichment programs and other programs aimed at keeping kids in school. "You have students who don't necessarily have academic concerns, but they may have engagement concerns," Kelley said. If those programs are cut, "then where are they left?" Calls growing for government to backtrack The office of Quebec's Education Ministry did not respond to CBC's request for comment but the minister has remained steadfast in his demand for school boards to meet their budgets. Still, some hope there's time to change the province's mind. A petition launched at the National Assembly is calling for the province to cancel the cuts. Meanwhile, two unions representing school support staff have filed a joint complaint with the Quebec ombudsman. In a news release, the unions state that cuts to the education system over the last year "have caused a major disruption in the system's ability to meet its legal obligations to students."
