English Montreal School Board says it has renounced federal funding for its legal challenges to Bill 21

Legault: 'Unacceptable' for EMSB to take funding Quebec Premier Francois Legault called it 'unacceptable' the the EMSB would take federal funding for a lawsuit against Quebec.

Montreal — The English Montreal School Board says it has rescinded its funding agreement with the Court Challenges Program, which would have helped the board fund its court challenges to Bill 21, Quebec's controversial secularism law.

In a statement Thursday, the board said that while it had applied for the funding and had its application accepted, it never received any funds from the Court Challenges Program.

"No federal funding has been used to fund litigation by the EMSB against the Quebec government," the board said in its statement. "The EMSB has renounced any funding it could receive from the Court Challenges Program."

The board added that "recent events do not affect the EMSB resolve to see to an end its important litigation attacking the constitutionality" of Bill 21.

"It's shocking. I think it's unacceptable to see the federal government is financing the EMSB to go against the will of the majority of Quebecers. It's insulting from Mr. Trudeau," he said. "I agree that we help and protect financially minority groups, but I don't accept that we sue – that the federal government finance a suit against a government."

Quebec Premier Francois Legault had earlier urged that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cut any federal funding to the EMSB for its challenges to Bill 21.