Bill 185 ­enters ­discussion phase

Tabled on May 15, Bill 185, an act to postpone school board elections from 2018 until 2020, entered the discussion phase at the national assembly on Wednesday. The bill, if passed, will defer scheduled school board elections until November, 2020 in an effort to avoid the voter fatigue of following provincial elections, scheduled for October of this year. The bill also aims to give the government time to explore the possibility of remote voting (possibly via internet) as an option for the 2020 election. Four briefs were presented during Wednesday’s discussion; one from Director of Elections Pierre Reid, One from Quebec Ombudsman Marie Rinfret, one from concerned citizen Chris Eustace and a combined memorandum from the Quebec English School Boards association (QESBA) and its French counterpart, the Fédération des commissions scolaires du Québec (FCSQ). See full story in the Friday, June 1 edition of The Record.