MONTREAL – Committee hearings examining Bill 86, the proposed law designed to do away with school board elections, get underway at the National Assembly in Quebec City on Jan. 28.
READ MORE: PQ leader vows to fight for Anglos to be heard on Bill 86
While the committee has agreed to hear from two school boards it initially excluded, the English-speaking community said it’s still not enough.
The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) said it is surprised that a commission on the future of school boards is not being heard – and neither is the government’s own advisory committee on English education.
The QCGN said the government may be stacking the cards to garner support for its project to change the way school boards are managed.
“The government wants control of who it listens to and therefore who will give support to them in their view,” said Sylvia Martin-Laforge with the QCGN.
“So, it’s a way of deciding what the outcome of the bill will be.”
On Thursday, the Anglophone community found an unlikely ally in the National Assembly, when Parti Québécois leader Pierre Karl Péladeau accused the Liberal government of not respecting their rights when it comes to Bill 86.
READ MORE: EMSB applauds decision to be included in Bill 86 hearings
As it stands, the bill is expected to become law on July 1 of this year.