Regroupement scolaire confessionnel
Encyclopedia
The Regroupement scolaire confessionnel (RSC) was a political party in the educational system of Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
from 1990 to 2003. The party governed the Montreal Catholic School Commission
(MCSC) from 1990 to 1998 and later formed the official opposition on the successor Commission scolaire de Montréal
(CSM).
The RSC supported the retention of Quebec's denominational school system, at a time when the opposition Mouvement pour une école moderne et ouverte
(MÉMO) favoured a change to language-based boards. Pallascio argued that his party was focused on the retention of Quebec's language, religion, and traditions, while opponents described it as reactionary and arch-conservative in its religious views. Some opponents also accused the RSC of intolerance toward minority communities and of ignoring issues such as school violence and sex education.
During the 1990 school board elections, Pallascio argued that Quebec should favour immigration from Europe over other parts of the world, saying that persons "who do not share [...] Judeo-Christian values" would be more difficult to integrate into Quebec society. This statement was widely criticized; an editorial in the Montreal Gazette described the RSC as "display[ing] the repugnant instincts of an archaic clique."
In 1991, the RSC voted down an opposition motion that would have put condom machines in the commission's high schools. The following year, the RSC abolished four school committees (general management, administrative issues, teaching methods, and the English sector) that had been in place since 1980, as part of what Ouimet described as a shift of powers from management to elected officials. Opponents charged that the restructuring was being undertaken by a secretive committee without any real consultation.
Quebec education minister Michel Pagé
put the MCSC is partial trusteeship in March 1992, following an extended deadlock on the appointment of a new director-general, which required two-thirds majority support form commissioners. Both the RSC and MÉMO criticized the minister's actions. The matter was resolved in September 1992 when Yves Archambault was appointed to the position by a unanimous vote.
The RSC lost its majority in the 1994 elections, falling to nine seats against ten for MÉMO and two for a new group called the Commissaires unis pour un renouveau scolaire (COURS). The RSC and COURS subsequently formed a coalition and continued to govern the board. Michel Pallascio, who was returned to the commission in the 1994 elections, was once again chosen serve as chair.
In 1996, Pallascio testified before a hearing on intercultural relations that "Judeo-Christian values" should remain an integral part of Quebec's education system and be accepted by new immigrants. Some groups representing cultural communities criticized this as exclusionary.
, running on a platform of keeping the French-language system dominated by Catholic values. The party was defeated, winning only seven seats against fourteen for MÉMO. Five MÉMO commissioners subsequently defected to the opposition and formed an alliance with the RSC, giving them a de facto majority on council.
Pallascio resigned as RSC leader in 2003, after accepting an appointment to Canada's National Parole Board. The RSC dissolved after this time, and some of its members helped create a new party, the Collectif pour la réussite et l'épanouissement de l'enfant
(CRÉE).
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
from 1990 to 2003. The party governed the Montreal Catholic School Commission
Montreal Catholic School Commission
The Montreal Catholic School Commission was a Roman Catholic school district in Montreal, Quebec, Canada which operated both French-language and English-language schools. It was the largest school board in Quebec, and was created on June 9, 1846, at the same time as a Protestant school board...
(MCSC) from 1990 to 1998 and later formed the official opposition on the successor Commission scolaire de Montréal
Commission scolaire de Montréal
Commission scolaire de Montréal is a French-language school board located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The school board was created on July 1, 1998, as a result of a law passed by the Quebec government that changed the school board system from denominational to linguistic...
(CSM).
Origins
The RSC was founded in 1990 by MCSC chair Michel Pallascio and eleven other commissioners as a vehicle to contest the 1990 elections. It was supported by the Mouvement scolaire confessionnel (MSC), a coalition of Roman Catholic groups that had formerly dominated school commission politics since 1973 by endorsing candidates on an individual basis. One opposition commissioner described the RSC's creation as simply a change in name, saying that it the party represented the same conservative ideology as the MSC.The RSC supported the retention of Quebec's denominational school system, at a time when the opposition Mouvement pour une école moderne et ouverte
Mouvement pour une école moderne et ouverte
Mouvement pour une école moderne et ouverte is a political party in the educational system of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has governed the Commission scolaire de Montréal since the commission's founding in 1998, under the leadership of Diane De Courcy.-Origins:MÉMO was founded in August 1987 to...
(MÉMO) favoured a change to language-based boards. Pallascio argued that his party was focused on the retention of Quebec's language, religion, and traditions, while opponents described it as reactionary and arch-conservative in its religious views. Some opponents also accused the RSC of intolerance toward minority communities and of ignoring issues such as school violence and sex education.
During the 1990 school board elections, Pallascio argued that Quebec should favour immigration from Europe over other parts of the world, saying that persons "who do not share [...] Judeo-Christian values" would be more difficult to integrate into Quebec society. This statement was widely criticized; an editorial in the Montreal Gazette described the RSC as "display[ing] the repugnant instincts of an archaic clique."
Governance
The RSC won eleven out of twenty-one seats in the 1990 school board elections to retain a narrow majority on the commission. MÉMO won nine seats and the remaining seat went to an independent. Pallascio was personally defeated in his ward, although he remained as RSC leader after the election. RSC member Denise Soucy-Brousseau was chosen to be his successor as chair and served for a year before resigning amid controversy. She was replaced by Francois Ouimet.In 1991, the RSC voted down an opposition motion that would have put condom machines in the commission's high schools. The following year, the RSC abolished four school committees (general management, administrative issues, teaching methods, and the English sector) that had been in place since 1980, as part of what Ouimet described as a shift of powers from management to elected officials. Opponents charged that the restructuring was being undertaken by a secretive committee without any real consultation.
Quebec education minister Michel Pagé
Michel Pagé
Michel Pagé is a businessman and former politician in the Canadian province of Quebec. He served in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1973 to 1992 as a Liberal and was a cabinet minister in the government of Robert Bourassa....
put the MCSC is partial trusteeship in March 1992, following an extended deadlock on the appointment of a new director-general, which required two-thirds majority support form commissioners. Both the RSC and MÉMO criticized the minister's actions. The matter was resolved in September 1992 when Yves Archambault was appointed to the position by a unanimous vote.
The RSC lost its majority in the 1994 elections, falling to nine seats against ten for MÉMO and two for a new group called the Commissaires unis pour un renouveau scolaire (COURS). The RSC and COURS subsequently formed a coalition and continued to govern the board. Michel Pallascio, who was returned to the commission in the 1994 elections, was once again chosen serve as chair.
In 1996, Pallascio testified before a hearing on intercultural relations that "Judeo-Christian values" should remain an integral part of Quebec's education system and be accepted by new immigrants. Some groups representing cultural communities criticized this as exclusionary.
Dissolution
Despite opposition from Pallascio and the RSC, the Quebec government passed legislation in 1998 to transform Quebec's denominational boards into linguistic ones. The RSC fielded a full slate of candidates for the newly formed Commission scolaire de Montréal in the 1998 electionsCommission scolaire de Montréal election, 1998
The first elections for trustee positions on the newly created Commission scolaire de Montréal, in the Canadian province of Quebec, were held on 14 June 1998...
, running on a platform of keeping the French-language system dominated by Catholic values. The party was defeated, winning only seven seats against fourteen for MÉMO. Five MÉMO commissioners subsequently defected to the opposition and formed an alliance with the RSC, giving them a de facto majority on council.
Pallascio resigned as RSC leader in 2003, after accepting an appointment to Canada's National Parole Board. The RSC dissolved after this time, and some of its members helped create a new party, the Collectif pour la réussite et l'épanouissement de l'enfant
Collectif pour la réussite et l'épanouissement de l'enfant
The Collectif pour la réussite et l'épanouissement de l'enfant was a short-lived political party in the educational system of Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
(CRÉE).