The ministers responsible for laicity and education have contacted all school service centres reminding them of their Bill 21 obligations.
In a statement issued Thursday, Education Minister Bernard Drainville said the schools to be inspected are in the Montreal, Laval, Quebec and Saguenay regions. The inspection process will run until Jan. 17.
“The situation at Bedford raised questions and concerns in the population, which I understand perfectly,” Drainville said. “These inspection mandates are necessary to protect our students. It is for them that schools exist. Their safety and wellbeing are our absolute priorities.
“We cannot allow persons who act in unacceptable ways or are motivated by idealogical and personal convictions to interfere in our schools.”
The minister responsible for laicity, Jean-François Roberge, adds more in the statement.
“Laicity in our schools and teaching networks is non-negotiable,” Roberge said, adding the law “must be applied and respected in all our schooling network.”
A detailed picture of any acts will be assembled by the inspectors over the coming weeks, the statement said. Once the information is in hand, “all measures will be evaluated to reinforce the laicity controls in the schools.”
Drainville and Roberge have already written a letter to all of Quebec’s school service centres reminding them of their obligations under Bill 21.
In October 11 teachers at the school had their teaching licences suspended by the Education Ministry pending the conclusions of an investigation.
Three of the 17 schools on the ministry’s list issued Thursday were already under inspection. They are St-Pascal-Baylon, Bienville and Lavoie, which are under the jurisdiction of the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal.
Schools to be inspected
- École Ste-Odile
- École Cardinal Roy
- École Henri Beaulieu
- École des Saints-Anges
- École Jean-Jacques-Rousseau
- École St-Pascal-Baylon
- École Bienville
- École La Voie
- École St-Justin
- École Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption
- École la Dauversière-Évangéline
- École Mont-de-La Salle
- École Leblanc
- École d’éducation internationale Filteau
- École polyvalente de l’Érablière
- École St-Isidore
- École St-Denis