Make Public Details of New Bill for Creation of Jewish Section in Quebec Council of Public Instructi

Details have just been made known of the bill which the Hon. Athanase David, Secretary of the Province of Quebec, will bring before the Quebec Legislature in the near future, and which provides for the creation of a Jewish section of the Council of Public Instruction and for the establishment of Jewish schools in this province.

The bill replaces section 20 of the Department of Education Act, which states that the Council of Education shall consist of Roman Catholic and Protestant members who shall be subject to the orders of Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council, and that said Council shall consist of two committees, one Protestant and one Catholic. The bill which will go as a Government measure changes this clause to state that the Council shall consist of Protestant, Jewish and Catholic members, and of three committees, composed from these same members. The Jewish committee will consist of 5 members to be named by the Lieutenant-Governor, while each committee will choose its own chairman.

It is also provided that the Lieutenant-Governor may appoint a Jewish central board of examiners, which will have not less than five and not more than ten members, should said Jewish committee recommend this appointment.

It is further laid down that in any school municipality on the Island of Montreal, be it under the present school law or a special education law, Jewish school municipalities may be erected for persons of Jewish religion, and in that event, the Jewish committee of the Council of Public Instruction will become a corporation and act as a board of Commissioners of the Jewish school of each such municipality.

At this point of his bill, Hon. Mr. David leaves the door open to the avoidance of the creation of a third school system. He declares that this Jewish Committee on the Council of Public Instruction, instead of establishing separate schools for Jewish children in the Jewish school municipalities thus created, may make arrangements with any other school commission and school trustees having jurisdiction in the same locality so that Jewish children may receive their education in such other schools. Should such a contract be made with another commission, all the arrangements will have to be approved of by the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council, on the recommendation of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

When the Jewish commission is established, it will have the right to the school taxes on the property owned by Jews, and also a share of the neutral panel fund on the same proportional basis for the Catholics and the Protestants, and the municipal authorities will be obliged to do the collecting of such taxes as is now done for the commissions of the other religions. The basis of division on the neutral panel under the Education Act of the province of Quebec is that the Protestants and Catholics divide according to school population. In the city of Montreal, however, this division is according to the population at large. The neutral panel is that on properties owned by companies irrespective of religious beliefs of shareholders or directors. However, in 1922, there was a change in the division of the neutral panel fund which materially affects the whole financial aspect of the present case. At that time it was found that the taxes on property owned by Jews was not sufficient to pay the cost of educating Jewish children in Protestant schools. It was then decided that the cost of education of Jewish children should be fixed at $60.00 per year per child and that the deficit to the Protestant Commission should be the first charge against the neutral panel. Last session, the Legislature did away with the fixed charge and provided that the Protestant Commission should have the full cost of educating Jewish children. This act was made for one year only and up to date no move has been made to extend it. The creation of the Jewish panel will do away with any question of reenacting last session’s legislation and will throw the three commissions on their respective financial resources, plus their share of the neutral panel.