Attention News Editors
For immediate release
Montreal protest demanding “Education for All” to take place at the Montreal School Board
The Collectif éducation sans frontières demands that all children have access to public schools, immediately
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Note: There will be a press point this WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20 at 6:45pm sharp in front of 3737 Sherbrooke East (La Commission scolaire de Montréal), with Linda Guerry and Romina Hernandez of the Collectif d’éducation sans frontières. For media inquiries, contact: solidaritesansfrontieres@
MONTREAL, February 19, 2013 — The Collectif éducation sans frontières / Education Across Borders Collective will be holding a demonstration in front of the Montreal School Board this coming Wednesday, February 20 starting at 6:30pm. The protest will take place just before and during the monthly meeting of the school board commissioners.
The Collectif éducation sans frontières is demanding that all children in Quebec have access to public schools. Currently, children of non-status immigrants cannot formally access public schools. They are either rejected because they can’t provide required identifications, or they are charged exorbitant fees, or they are denied a “code permanent” that would allow them to continue schooling.
The Collectif éducation sans frontières is demanding a clear policy change by Montreal school boards, starting with the Commission scolaire de Montréal, that would allow non-status children to attend school with minimal hassles.
According to Linda Guerry, a mother of a young son and a researcher at UQAM who is involved with the Collectif éducation sans frontières: “The current situation is intolerable. The Quebec government and school boards themselves have the administrative powers to make immediate changes, so that the current discriminatory situation changes. There’s absolutely no reason why the School Board cannot act now, urgently.”
As a comparison, non-status children in jurisdictions like Ontario, California and Texas are able to access public schools. Furthermore, the Quebec government and local school boards are in breach of international human rights covenants guaranteeing the right to education.
Romina Hernandez, a member of both the Collectif éducation sans frontières and Mexicans United for Regularization adds: “We have been in direct contact with many families who have confronted a clear barrier to their children’s access to schools. It’s devastating for parents, it’s devastating for their children. We want an immediate change.”
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For media inquiries, contact: solidaritesansfrontieres@
INFO:
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