Children of Ukrainians arriving in Quebec as refugees generally must receive their schooling in French, but the parents of the enrolled students hold temporary work permits and/or temporary resident status.
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The English Montreal School Board has accepted more than a dozen Ukrainian children as students who have been granted exemptions to study in English in Quebec, while the Lester B. Pearson School Board has accepted five.
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Both boards confirmed the news on Friday, noting that the exemptions to Bill 101 regulations were based on the fact their parents hold temporary work permits and/or temporary resident status.
Children of Ukrainians arriving in Quebec as refugees generally must receive their schooling in French.
The EMSB said in a communiqué that “students whose parents hold temporary work permits are eligible to receive instruction in English.”
“Our schools and school board are open for any parent to apply for eligibility… under the applicable provisions of the Charter of the French Language,” EMSB chair Joe Ortona said in the communiqué.
The EMSB Council of Commissioners adopted a resolution on March 23 indicating to the Quebec government that the board was willing to accept Ukrainian students immediately on a humanitarian basis. The Charter of the French Language has a humanitarian clause allowing for admission to the English school system under exceptional circumstances, but Ortona emphasized that it is not the route these newly enrolled students took, although he added that “it should be.”