Quebec to seek leave to appeal school board reform ruling to Supreme Court of Canada
A spokesperson for Quebec's justice minister confirmed this week the province will appeal a ruling from the Quebec Court of Appeal rendered in April.
That ruling upheld a Quebec Superior Court decision from August 2023 which found the province's law abolishing school boards violates linguistic minority education rights, guaranteed in Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The law, known as Bill 40, was adopted in February 2020 and transformed French schools boards, which were governed by elected commissioners, into service centres run by a board of directors overseen by the province.
The Court of Appeal said last month that the law 'radically alters the mission of these school service centres compared to school boards.'
The law's measures affecting English school boards were stayed pending the outcome of the court challenge.
As Quebec is now seeking to appeal again, spokesman Julien Garon says the government has no further comment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2025.
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Montreal Gazette
2 hours ago
- Montreal Gazette
Messing with history: Could Quebec City's new third link wake up ghosts of Battle of the Plains of Abraham?
Quebec News By QUEBEC — With all the local talk of traffic congestion and the need to build bridges and tunnels, Quebec City residents might have overlooked one little fact: They already have a tunnel running under their feet. One of the lesser known historical features of the provincial capital, the 1.6-kilometre train tunnel runs on a north-south axis underground through the city with its northern entrance just west of the St-Sauveur neighbourhood and the southern portal near the St. Lawrence River just east of Gilmour Hill and the Quebec City yacht club. The southern portal is located in the areas known as l'Anse-au-Foulon, which in the old days was called Wolfe's Cove. That's because it was at this strategic point on the St. Lawrence River that British General James Wolfe gained his foothold over the French-held city by having his troops, under the cover of night, scale the steep cliff to the Plains of Abraham. The rest is history with the British defeating the French in a short battle on Sept. 13, 1759. Both generals, Wolfe for the British and Louis-Joseph de Montcalm for the French, died in the battle that was a turning point in the history of North America. But on June 12, when Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault announced a new corridor for a possible third link between Quebec City and Lévis that could potentially run right through the area, the historical aspects of the potential route were not mentioned. Nor was the fact Guilbault's new 2.8-kilometre bridge from the south shore could make landfall in the same area. That is where the bridge would become a tunnel, either 1.75 km or 3.6 km depending on the route, bored out of Cap Diamant that protected the French from invaders for years. 'It shows Mme. Guilbault has no knowledge or respect whatsoever for history,' said Louis Vallée, president of the Fédération Histoire Québec and the Société d'histoire de Sillery. The borough of Sillery could be radically affected by the project the Coalition Avenir Québec government has been promising since 2018. 'It can't happen,' Vallée said. 'It would scrap an entire heritage area. It would be catastrophic.' A quick tour by bicycle of the L'Anse-au-Foulon area reveals an area lush with greenery (including poison ivy) and recreational facilities such as bike paths. That is mixed in with historic and military lore, all well-documented by information panels installed by the National Battlefields Commission, which owns the site. The tunnel entrance itself is partially hidden by Champlain Blvd., which runs along the river. It can be found by following the rail line from the water side, which leads to the arched entrance of the tunnel liberally covered in graffiti. On its own, the tunnel, known to every rebellious teen in Sillery as a place to sneak off to, is historic. The Canadian Pacific Railway built the tunnel to transport trans-Atlantic passengers disembarking in Quebec City at L'Anse-au-Foulin port to its rail lines to the north and on to Montreal and the rest of Canada. At the time, the masts of the ships were too tall to clear Montreal's new Jacques-Cartier Bridge located downstream, so ships had to drop their passengers in Quebec City. The official opening of the tunnel took place June 1, 1931, to coincide with the arrival of the Empress of Britain. The Empress of Britain and her sister ship the Empress of Ireland were then the fastest ships making the transatlantic run to Canadian ports. According to the March-April 2008 edition of Canadian Rail, 100,000 people witnessed the arrival of the Empress of Britain. Building the tunnel was a substantial job involving 600 workers and the removal of about 61,000 cubic metres of rock and other material. Work was done from both ends and advanced by about five metres a day. The entire project was completed in 11 months. The tunnel is about 100 metres underground, running under the Plains of Abraham, then north under what is now Belvèdere Ave. to emerge in the St-Malo industrial park. Much has been written about the tunnel and the location. In the July 1931 edition of The Canadian Magazine under the headline 'Where Wolfe landed an Empress docks,' author C.H.J. Snider wrote the building of the tunnel allowed authorities to gather until-then-unknown information about the rock under the Plains. 'More was learned of the country's foundations than was guessed about them during the whole pre-conquest regime,' he wrote. Canadian Rail notes the workers found limestone and shale in the construction phase. While the limestone posed few problems, 'the shale had to be supported with timbers until the concrete lining (which exists to this day) could be fitted. Inevitably, accidents occurred in the Wolfe's Cove project.' Ironically, on the day of Guilbault's announcement, officials at the Ministère des Transports et da la Mobilité durable (MTDM) mentioned previous studies and the 'presence of a railroad tunnel' permits the ministry to conclude the rock would be 'safe' to bore. Which raises the question, could the railroad tunnel somehow be transformed into the tunnel Guilbault wants that would be available to car, truck and public-transit vehicles? The question to Guilbault's staff went unanswered, as did questions about whether the ministry considered the effect the project would have on the heritage of the area. So the Gazette consulted an expert. 'The entry point of a tunnel has not been studied in detail,' said Bruno Massicotte, a professor in Polytechnique Montréal's civil, geological and mining engineering department who was also in charge of the first 2016 study of a tunnel between Quebec City and Lévis. 'My personal impression is the current tunnel would be too small and too low. The envisioned tunnel would have to be halfway up the cliff.' He added, however, building a tunnel in this area is 'feasible,' because current technology would work in that rock. There is a Montreal example of a tunnel being repurposed for modern needs. As of April, testing has begun for REM trains using the old tunnel running under Mount Royal that will connect the Du Ruisseau and Central Station stops once the next phase of the project is rolled out. That tunnel was built in 1912 and converting it was something of an engineering and logistical challenge. There is one other potential obstacle to whatever Quebec decides about the tunnel: It and the tracks are privately owned and still in use. In the late 1990s, the tracks, tunnel and infrastructure at L'Anse-au-Foulon were purchased by Quebec-Gatineau Railway, a subsidiary of the U.S. giant, Genesee & Wyoming. In an email, Quebec-Gatineau Railway spokesperson Tom Ciuba said the tunnel is still in use anywhere from one to three times a week depending on freight traffic. 'As far as we are aware, there have been no talks about converting or widening the tunnel,' Ciuba said. 'Any impacts to our business on a possible widening or conversion of the tunnel would depend on the construction.' The citizens of Sillery and their historical society president Vallée, however, are already up in arms. Not only would a bridge block their view of the river, the traffic generated by thousands of cars would create air and noise pollution affecting their quality of life. And they wonder what kind of underground excavation work through posh and historic Sillery would be required for a tunnel. Quebec just spent millions on upgrading the riverside attractions along Champlain Blvd. to make the site near the coves more citizen-friendly. The third phase of the project includes a beach and infinity pool that gives bathers the impression they are swimming in the St. Lawrence River. 'The area would wind up as lifeless as the area under the Jacques-Cartier Bridge,' Vallée said. 'They would be busting up a major recreational tourist area.' Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand, who says the Quebec government has cut the city out of the planning process, has expressed skepticism, calling on Quebec to answer 10 key questions he has on the project. But would the bridge and tunnel improve the lives of motoriststs who currently have only two options to cross the river, the historic Quebec Bridge and the newer Pierre Laporte Bridge? One new study, written by Université Laval researchers and published June 12 after Guilbault announced the chosen corridor, concluded the total economy in time for motorists with her route would be two minutes, 18 seconds. Guilbault has promised more project details, this time costed, in the fall, but opposition parties are already calling her scheme another soon-to-be-broken Coalition Avenir Québec government electoral promise. She argues, however, the corridor she has selected represents the best of several options. 'Yes, there will be challenges, as there would have been for all the corridors,' Guilbault said in June.
Winnipeg Free Press
7 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
French police are slashing migrant boats but they're still determined to reach the UK
ECAULT BEACH, France (AP) — Across the English Channel, the white cliffs of the U.K beckon. On fine days, men and women with children in their arms and determination in their eyes can see the shoreline of what they believe will be a promised land as they attempt the perilous crossing clandestinely, ditching belongings to squeeze aboard flimsy inflatable boats that set to sea from northern France. In a flash, on one recent crossing attempt, French police swooped in with knives, wading into the water and slashing at the boat's thin rubber — literally deflating the migrants' hopes and dreams. Some of the men put up dispirited resistance, trying to position themselves — in vain — between the boat and the officers' blades. One splashed water at them, another hurled a shoe. Cries of 'No! No!' rang out. A woman wailed. But the team of three officers, one also holding a pepper-gas canister, lunged at the boat again and again, pitching some of those aboard into the surf as it quickly deflated. The Associated Press obtained video of the police boat-slashing, filmed on a beach near the French port of Boulogne. Growing numbers are getting through France's defenses France's northern coast has long been fortified against invasion, with Nazi bunkers in World War II and pre-French Revolution forts. Now, France is defending beaches with increasing aggression against migrants trying at a record pace to go the other way — out to sea, to the U.K. Under pressure from U.K. authorities, France's government is preparing to give an even freer hand to police patrols that, just last week, were twice filmed slashing boats carrying men, women and children. The video obtained by AP was filmed Monday. Four days later, on Écault beach south of Boulogne, the BBC filmed police wading into the surf and slashing another boat with box cutters, again pitching people into the water as it deflated. An AP journalist who arrived moments later counted multiple lacerations and saw dispirited people, some still wearing life jackets, clambering back up sand dunes toward woods inland. There, AP had spent the previous night with families and men waiting for a crossing, sleeping rough in a makeshift camp without running water or other basic facilities. Exhausted children cried as men sang songs and smoked around a campfire. The French Interior Ministry told AP that police haven't been issued orders to systematically slash boats. But the British government — which is partly funding France's policing efforts — welcomed what it called a 'toughening' of the French approach. The U.K. is also pushing France to go further and let officers intervene against boats in deeper waters, a change the government in Paris is considering. Campaigners for migrant rights and a police union warn that doing so could endanger both migrants and officers. Of the slashing filmed Friday by the BBC, the Interior Ministry said the boat was in distress, overloaded and riding low in the water, with migrants 'trying to climb aboard from the back, risking being caught by the propeller.' 'The gendarmes, in water up to their knees, intervened to rescue people in danger, pull the boat to shore and neutralize it,' the ministry said. For migrants, boat-slashing is infuriating Around the campfire, the men stared into the flames and ruminated. Deniz, a Kurd with an infectious laugh and a deep singing voice, wanted more than anything to cross the channel in time to celebrate his 44th birthday in August with his 6-year-old daughter, Eden, who lives with her mother in the U.K. Like nearly all the migrating people that AP interviewed, surviving in camps that police frequently dismantle, Deniz didn't want to give his full name. Refused a short-stay U.K. visa, Deniz said he had no other option than the sea route, but four attempts ended with police wrecking the boats. He said that on one of those occasions, his group of around 40 people begged an officer patrolling alone to turn a blind eye and let them take to sea. 'He said, 'No,' nobody going to stop him. We could stop him, but we didn't want, you know, to hurt him or we didn't want to argue with him,' Deniz said. 'We just let him, and he cut it with a knife.' He believes that U.K. funding of French policing is turning officers into zealots. 'I say, 'Because of the money, you are not France soldiers, you're not France police. You are the English dogs now,' he said. The cat-and-mouse between migrants and police The coastal battle between police and migrants never lets up, no matter the hour or weather. Drones and aircraft watch the beaches and gendarmes patrol them aboard buggies and on foot. On Écault beach, a WWII gun emplacement serves as their lookout post. Inland waterways have been sealed off with razor wire and floating barriers to prevent launches of so-called 'taxi boats.' They motor to offshore pickup points, where waiting migrants then wade into the sea and climb aboard, children in their arms and on their shoulders. AP saw a 6 a.m. pickup Friday on Hardelot beach south of Boulogne. Many dozens of people squeezed aboard, straddling the sausage-like inflated sides — one foot in the sea, the other in the boat. It left about a half-dozen people on the beach, some in the water, apparently because there was no more room. Gendarmes on the beach watched it motor slowly away. Campaigners who work with migrants fear that allowing police to intervene against boats farther offshore will panic those aboard, risking casualties. French officials are examining the possibility of police interventions up to 300 meters (980 feet) from the water's edge. 'All that will happen is that people will take greater and greater risks,' said Diane Leon, who coordinates aid efforts for the group Médecins du Monde along the coast. 'The police entering the water — this was something that, until now, we saw only rarely. But for us, it raises fears of panic during boarding or of boats arriving farther and farther out, forcing people to swim to reach the taxi boats.' In an AP interview, police union official Régis Debut voiced concerns about potential legal ramifications for officers if people drown during police attempts to stop offshore departures. He said officers weighed down by equipment could also drown. 'Our colleagues don't want to cross 300 meters to intercept the small boats. Because, in fact, we're not trained for that,' said Debut, of the union UNSA Police. 'You also need to have the proper equipment. You can't carry out an arrest wearing combat boots, a police uniform and the bullet-proof vest. So the whole process needs to be reconsidered.' Migrants say crossings are atrocious but worth the risk Around the campfire, men laughed off the risks of the crossings that French authorities say claimed nearly 80 lives last year. They had nothing left to lose and the channel was just one more hardship after tortuous journeys to France filled with difficulties and misery, they said. 'We will never give up,' Deniz said. According to U.K. government figures, more than 20,000 people made the crossing in the first six months of this year, up by about 50% from the same period in 2024, and potentially on course toward a new annual record. About 37,000 people were detected crossing in 2024, the second-highest annual figure after 46,000 in 2022. Qassim, a 26-year-old Palestinian, messaged AP after crossing last week with his wife and their daughters, aged 6 and 4. The boat labored through waves for eight hours, he said. 'Everyone was praying,' he wrote. 'We were patient and endured and saw death. The children were crying and screaming.' 'Now we feel comfortable, safe, and stable. We are starting a new page,' he wrote. 'We will do our best to protect our children and ourselves and to make up for the difficult years we have been exposed to.' ___ Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP's global migration coverage at
Calgary Herald
17 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
Suriname's president vows to make oil wealth 'available to all'
(Bloomberg) — Suriname officially elected its first female president as the small, Dutch-speaking nation on the Caribbean coast of South America prepares to navigate an oil boom. Article content Lawmakers backed Jennifer Geerlings-Simons and her vice president, Gregory Rusland, on Sunday in the Surinamese capital of Paramaribo after the incumbent party opted against putting forward a challenger. Article content Article content Article content Geerlings-Simons, a 71-year-old former parliamentary speaker who campaigned on a more socially inclusive strategy, is set to be inaugurated on July 16. 'I come into this position to serve and I will use all my knowledge, strength and dedication to make our wealth available to all our people, but with special attention to our youth,' she told the National Assembly. Article content Article content Her National Democratic Party government is taking office as TotalEnergies SE begins development of the offshore GranMorgu project, which is expected to produce 220,000 barrels per day in 2028. The French energy giant and Malaysia's Petronas are searching for more oil in the Guyana-Suriname basin. Article content Suriname's reserves are estimated at 760 million barrels and its $4.5 billion economy is forecast to grow 3.2% this year. Growth is on track to slowly edge up to near 4% by 2027 before a more than ten-fold surge once crude starts flowing. Article content Sunday's unopposed victory by Geerlings-Simons caps a lengthy electoral process in which her NDP won 18 seats in the May 25 national vote. It later negotiated at coalition with five other parties to form a 34-seat majority in the 51-member legislature. The Progressive Reform Party of outgoing President Chandrikapersad Santokhi holds the remaining 17 seats. Article content
