Laval, Friday, June 6, 2025 – As the detailed study of Bill 94 begins, the Regroupement des comités de parents autonomes du Québec (RCPAQ) welcomes the Minister of Education Bernard Drainville’s intention to amend his bill by withdrawing Article 12, which would have imposed codes of ethics on governing boards.
The RCPAQ devoted 23 of its 28 recommendations in its brief and the core of its parliamentary testimony to highlighting the risks posed by this article. We saw a strong potential for harm to the very foundations of governing boards and expressed concerns over procedural abuses, inequity between school boards, and unequal treatment of members within the same board. We also believed that restrictions on members’ freedom of expression were likely under the proposed provisions.
“The minister has heard the voice of parents,” said Sylvain Martel, spokesperson for the RCPAQ. “By withdrawing Article 12, governing boards remain spaces where parental participation retains its full democratic meaning.”
The RCPAQ remains convinced, however, that a stronger framework for governing boards is necessary to ensure compliance with the Education Act in their operations, and that it is important to establish means to take action when respect for the law appears to be compromised. We therefore offer our full cooperation to the Minister in identifying, together with stakeholders, clear, effective, and balanced solutions that would support compliance with the rules as well as the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved.
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About the Regroupement des comités de parents autonomes du Québec
The RCPAQ represents parents, Francophones and Anglophones, involved in the public school network of their regions, who represent the families of 200,000 students or 20% of all students in Quebec.
