A Brief on Bill 86 : An Act to Modify the Organization and Governance of School Boards to Give Schools a Greater Say in Decision-making and Ensure Parents' Presence Within Each School Board's Decision-making Body

To say that the English‐speaking community dislikes the proposed Bill 86 would be a gross understatement. To say the English‐speaking community views Bill 86 as an attack on its continued existence in Quebec is the more accurate view of the community’s feelings about this “projet de loi”. The community senses, with this bill, a fundamental shift that seeks to completely submerge and eradicate any public sign of the presence of the English‐speaking community in Quebec. The community feels threatened not only about the future of its schools, but equally about its continued existence as an entity. The impression is that the present government is pursuing a systematic dismantling of the public institutions serving the English‐speaking community and increasingly diminishing its role in the public life of the province. The importance of the presence of our public institutions cannot be understated either, as they are an extremely important social construct acting as central pillars or anchors on which our community is built. The dictionary defines an institution as follows: “an organization, establishment, foundation, society, or the like, devoted to the promotion of a particular cause or program, especially one of a public, educational, or charitable character.”