Lester B. Pearson School Board to join budget- cut lawsuit against Quebec government

Macdonald High School in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC. (Lester B. Pearson School Board)

Another English Montreal school board has joined a lawsuit against the Quebec government over budget cuts in education.

The Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB) is the latest to join the Quebec English School Board (QESBA)’s legal challenge after a unanimous vote Thursday night.

It threatened to sue the province in late July, and the English Montreal School Board (EMSB) voted to take part on Monday.

QESBA is challenging Quebec’s education budgetary rules and wants them stayed.

Last June, LBPSB’s Council of Commissioners also adopted a resolution calling on Quebec to reverse cuts.

The province is demanding its education network slash a total of $567.7 million from the 2025-2026 fiscal year: English school boards and French-language service centres were asked to cut $510.8 million, and private schools an additional $56.9 million.

The school boards taking part in the lawsuit say the budget measures imposed on the entire education system are “unreasonable and unworkable,” preventing them from presenting balanced budgets.

“As minority language school boards in Canada, English school boards are entitled to specific rights — including the authority to manage and allocate resources in ways that best serve our communities,” said the LBPSB in a news release.

LBPSB Chairperson Judy Kelley says the nine English school boards under QESBA were looking at how it could be beneficial for them to join the lawsuit separately as they are all uniquely affected.

She says schools are still in the process of budget correcting after the announced cuts, followed by Education Minister Bernard Drainville reinvesting some $540 million into the system, with strings attached.

“There’s very specific attachments to how we can use that money. It’s a real juggling act to see if you can counter some of the original budgetary regulations and rules with the new money or not,” she told CTV News.

She pushed back against Drainville saying the government has increased its spending in education in its provincial budget, saying the reality is more complex. For example, teachers signed a new collective agreement that enshrined salary increases so labour is more expensive, on top of inflation.

School boards also manage buildings, handle maintenance, provide services for students in school, transportation, and more.

“Imagine in all the costs in running a school board. It’s not just about paying a teacher’s salary to be in a classroom,” she said. “There’s so much that goes on and, in every area, costs have risen, and the funds given do not begin to match what the costs are.”

Kelley stresses that all budget compressions affect student services in one way or another.

The school board is confident Quebec’s courts will side with them in a timely decision “that safeguards the future of [its] students.”