For over 50 years, the Liberals or Parti Québécois haveheld power in Quebec City butfor the first time in all these decades, the CAQ has finally won the right to govern the city. The problem with this CAQ victory, however, is that there are no anglophones elected as part of the CAQ majority in Quebec, which has raised concerns for the minority anglophone community in Quebec.

Montreal’s CTV News gives more insight to this by citing the case of Christopher Skeete, elected in the Laval riding of Sainte-Rose,“He is as comfortable in English as he is in French, as a result of being raised by bilingual parents — but he does not self-identify as an anglophone.”

“The central mission for the CAQ is to get us out of these anglophone/francophone [divisions]. We’re all Quebecers. I see myself as a Quebecer first,” said Skeete.

One of the priorities of Quebec’s new CAQ government is to eliminate school boards, there are added concerns as to what the move would mean for anglophone children?

Legault’s led CAQ government intends to close down school boards and substitute them with “service centres” that would offer administrative backing to schools. The party says eliminating school boards would provide schools with greater autonomy and incur less cost to the educational system.

Anglophone groups are however against this plan, theyare of the opinion that the removal of school boards would infringe on their rights and have sworn to fight the change in court.

Legault on his part has said he intends to govern all Quebecers the same, guided by the following statements, “My father was born in Trinidad and Tobago. I’m the son of an immigrant, and my mom was French-Canadian. So I’ll let the viewers decide what labels to give me.”

Geoffrey Chambers of the Quebec Community Groups Network, which lobbied hard for the creation of an English Secretariat under the Liberal government, expressed his pleasure at having heard those words from Legault. “I’m glad he spoke a few words in English and the words were encouraging to our community,” said Chambers.

“We’re intending to meet with Mr. Legault himself, they’ve promised us a meeting, and some senior members of his staff.”

About the future of the education board, Chambers says, “we want to see an education policy evolve in a way that’s good for the community and that’s a little worrying because it’s somewhat at odds with some of their policy orientation in regard to the structure of school boards.”

The Quebec Community Groups Network intends to make sure that the newly-elected CAQ government knows the needs of the English community, and that the government maintains constant communication with the electorate.

Recently elected Member of the National Assemblyfor Westmount-Saint Louis, Jennifer Maccarone says she anticipates a fierce fight to protect school boards.

“It’s clear to me the CAQ has zero understanding of the anglophone minority community and their decision to manage and control their educational institutions as constitutionally mandated,” she said.