Quebec puts English school board under trusteeship, alerts anti-corruption police

Nov 6, 2019 | 2:33 PM

MONTREAL — The Quebec government has placed the province’s largest English-speaking school board under trusteeship and sent a report on the organization’s governance to the anti-corruption police.

Education Minister Jean-Francois Roberge said today an investigation by his department revealed irregularities within the English Montreal School Board, which is responsible for 44,000 students.

Roberge says the school board improperly awarded millions of dollars worth of public contracts and politicized its decision-making to the detriment of students, staff and parents.

But the education minister recognized he was in a sensitive situation because the school board is suing the Quebec government over Bill 21, which bans teachers and some other public sector workers from wearing religious symbols at work.