EMSB urges province to delay approval of controversial Quebec history course

The English Montreal School Board is asking Quebec's education minister to delay the implementation of a controversial new history courseuntil changes are made to include the contributions of Indigenous, allophone and anglophone people.

The new curriculum, which remains in the pilot phase, spans both Secondary III and IV. It runs chronologically from the 1500s to today.

It has been met with criticism forits failure to reflect the province's diversity.

"Our big concern is with the content of the program," said Joseph Lalla, the commissioner who put forward a motion on the matter.

"We hope that this will be corrected very quickly."

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The EMSB is asking that a minimum of 20 per cent of the content of the course be devoted toIndigenous, allophone and anglophone people.

The motion also asks that the final approval of the curriculum be delayed by another year.

Confusion over rollout

The Secondary III portion of the course was originally slated to be in classrooms across the province last fall, after it was tested out in some 30 schools in 2015-2016.

However, Education Minister Sbastien Proulx decided last May to keep it in the pilot phase for another year with a promise to make the curriculum more inclusive.

He later said the changes would only be minor and that any school wishing to use the new pilot curriculum could do so.

As a result, many school boards, including the EMSB, opted to use the Secondary III course this year, with new textbooks already printed and training days for teachers on offer.

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The Secondary IV portion of the course is expected to be more widely tested out next year, as students move on to the second half of the course.

The board surveyed its history teachers piloting the Secondary III course and 68 per cent of them indicated there should be more content on Indigenous people.

A greater focus on Aboriginal history in schools was one of the key recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Lalla also noted that English students aren't being provided with the same material as French students.

"Students who are following the course in French have access to a workbook which are quite common in most of the courses," said Lalla.

"But in the English schools, there is no equivalent workbook."

EMSB too 'timid'?

One EMSBcommissioner says the board should not have implemented the courses in the first place.

"The school board has been extremely timid in advocating for the rights of the anglophone community," Julien Feldman said.

"We're allowed to advocate for our community. We have young children here who need to get a sense of how they fit into modern Quebec society."

Feldman says the government hasn't listened to the anglophone community and the EMSB has to consider developing its own curriculum.

"It's our right to have a curriculum that speaks to our students," he said.