Townshippers’ Association President Gerald Cutting did not mince words when it came to talking about Bill 40, the Coalition Avenir Quebec’s school board reform bill.
“This is a bad bill,” he told The Record on Wednesday. “It’s based on false premises, and it’s almost guaranteed to produce nothing but conflict.” Although the association has a history of speaking to issues at the National Assembly, Cutting said that Townshippers’ was not given the chance to speak at the special consultations on the bill that have been taking place at the National Assembly since the beginning of last week. Lacking that opportunity, the organization prepared a brief outlining five main areas of concern for the government to keep in mind. Concern number one argues that Bill 40 relies on a very narrow definition of community representation and, in doing so, puts added pressure on parents. “Our community members value this institution —and the schools within its jurisdiction— for the historical, political and cultural contributions they have made to the development of the English-speaking population of this part of rural Quebec and they value their constitutionally protected right to participate in the management and control of their last institution regardless of their status as parents or otherwise,” the document reads. See full story in the Thursday, Nov. 14 edition of The Record.
