Quebec’s English school boards gear up for Nov. 3 elections

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Starting Tuesday, candidates who want to help govern Quebec’s nine English school boards can submit their nomination papers for the Nov. 3 election.

The nomination period runs for five days, ending Sept. 29, Elections Quebec announced Friday.

Nearly 300,000 people are on the electoral roll, though that number may change as voters have until Oct. 15 to add their names to the list.

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The Legault government has been trying to abolish Quebec’s English boards since it passed Bill 40 in 2020.

In August 2023, the Quebec Superior Court ruled Bill 40 provisions related to English boards were unconstitutional. Quebec is appealing the decision. The case is expected to drag on for years, including a probable Supreme Court challenge.

At a June “elections mobilization” conference organized by the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA), speakers said a high turnout on Nov. 3 was important to preserve the institutions, described as critical to the vitality of the English-speaking community.

In November, voters will cast two ballots — for the chair of their local school board and a commissioner who will represent their district. Each board has between nine and 12 commissioners.

Only people registered on the electoral list of an English school board can vote.

To check if they are on the list, Quebecers can call Elections Quebec at 1-888-353-2846. A voter can learn which school board covers their area by entering their postal code on an electronic form on the Elections Quebec website.

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There are strict rules about who can vote.

A parent whose child is admitted or has previously been admitted to an English school board should be registered on the board’s electoral list but should confirm their status.

Parents with a child currently in a French school service centre cannot vote in English school board elections.

However, anglophones and francophones who previously sent their children to French schools but now want to vote in English board elections can choose to register on the electoral list of their local English school board.

English school boards handle updates to their electoral lists. Voters must complete a form and return it to their local school board.

On Friday, the QESBA told The Gazette that it will undertake a three-phase publicity campaign focused on recruiting candidates, updating the electoral list and getting out the vote.

QESBA said it will also promote the election at a two-day conference next week that aims to “strengthen the vital link between the education community and the wider official language minority community and society it serves.”

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The Sept. 25-26 event will bring together school boards, administrators, teachers, parents and the Quebec Community Groups Network, a coalition of anglophone groups.

In 2020, Quebec sought to scrap all elected school boards, with the Legault government seeking more control over the school system.

French boards were abolished and replaced with service centres overseen by the province.

But English boards went to court to plead for an exemption, arguing the law was unconstitutional because it infringes on the anglophone community’s right to manage and control its schools.

In the last school board elections in 2021, many positions on English school boards were filled by acclamation. Board officials blamed confusion over who could run, as well as pandemic restrictions and delays.

English boards traditionally had higher voter turnout rates compared with French boards. In 2014, for example, 21 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots in the EMSB election, compared with 4.9 per cent for French boards.

Here are the key dates:

• Sept. 20: Start of the electoral period.
• Sept. 24 to 29: Candidates submit nomination papers.
• Early October: Voters on the electoral list receive a notice in the mail.
• Oct. 15: Last day to update the electoral list.
• Oct. 27: Advance voting, noon to 8 p.m.
• Nov. 3: Election day, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The nine English boards are:

• Central Quebec School Board
• Eastern Shores School Board
• Eastern Townships School Board
• English Montreal School Board
• Lester B. Pearson School Board
• New Frontiers School Board
• Riverside School Board
• Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board
• Western Quebec School Board

ariga@postmedia.com

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