Federal watchdog prepared to challenge Quebec laws on anglophone rights

Plan to abolish English school boards “has a significant impact on the rights of the anglophone community,” languages commissioner says.

Canada’s new language watchdog says Quebec’s plan to abolish elected English school boards would have a “significant impact” on anglophone education rights — and she says she is prepared to challenge provincial laws that violate minority-language protections.

“The education sector clearly is one of the community’s most powerful tools for the survival of its language and culture, and what I intend to do in my role is to protect official language minority communities across the country,” Kelly Burke said in an interview with The Gazette.

She took over as official languages commissioner on March 30. Her role is to protect the rights of anglophones in Quebec and of francophone minorities elsewhere in Canada.