EMSB election sends clear message to Legault, says re-elected chair Joe Ortona

“Very humbling,” says newly re-elected chair of EMSB Joe Ortona on his win, capturing over 13,000 votes. Tehosterihens Deer reports.

By Tehosterihens Deer

Posted November 4, 2024 8:50 am.

Last Updated November 4, 2024 4:53 pm.

Joe Ortona believes his clean sweep of the English Montreal School Board (EMSB) election sends a clear message to the François Legault government on Bill 40 and other matters.

Ortona and his team, with 13,289 votes, defeated Katherine Korakakis (4,674 votes), president of the English Parents’ Committee Association of Quebec, in all 10 commissioner races on Sunday.

Elections were held across the province’s nine English boards, though some positions were already acclaimed or vacant because of a lack of candidates. Only the EMSB saw all of its positions contested.

It was the first EMSB election since the Quebec government passed education reform Bill 40 in 2020. The law abolished school boards across the province and replaced them with school service centres – except for English school boards.

“One of the things we’re challenging in Bill 40 is the right to manage and control where we spend the money,” Ortona said Monday after the election win. “Right now, the government is not living up to its section 23 obligations. They give money, but then they tell us where it can be spent and where it can’t.”

“We maintain that we should be able to make those decisions. So again, that’s an ongoing challenge. We’ll have to wait and see what the Court of Appeals decides.”

*EMSB chair Joe Ortona on Nov. 4, 2024, after being re-elected. (Tehosterihens Deer, CityNews)*

Bill 40 is one of many bills English-speaking Quebecers have felt infringe upon their rights. Ortona says his landslide victory also sends messages to Legault about Bill 21, Quebec’s secularism law, and Bill 96, the province’s French-language reform.

Ortona says some common issues brought up by voters during the campaign were the court challenges. He is also looking to upgrade school buildings, student equipment, and improve language programs.

“We want to make sure that the kids have the latest technology, the latest equipment, and that we’re putting in all the resources that we can in the classroom, and we’re always looking to improve that,” he said. “The state of our buildings is really important.”

Ortona, a lawyer and chair of the EMSB since 2020, says he’s thrilled to be re-elected.

“We worked hard,” he said. “We spoke to people on the ground, door to door, talking about where the EMSB has gone in the last four years. And it was obviously a message that resonated with a lot of people, where the EMSB has gone and where we want to bring it.”

“Your thrilled to see the confidence that people have and it’s also very humbling at the same time,” he said.

Around 82,000 people were on the electoral list to vote during this school board election. Sunday’s vote saw a 22 per cent turnout.

Ortona, who acknowledges the turnout could have been higher, wants to see more polling stations and mail-in ballots.

“Yes, the turnout is 22 per cent,” he said. “[But] the government is in large part responsible for that turnout being 22 per cent. So using the 22 per cent turnout as a reason to abolish school boards or transform us into service centres is not something that I subscribe to.”

Here is a breakdown of the 10 commissioner race results at the EMSB:

Ahuntsic-Cartierville–Montréal-Nord

Franco Mazzariello, Team Katherine Korakakis: 425

Susan Perera, Team Joe Ortona: 916

Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce

Chelsea Craig, Team Joe Ortona: 1,039

Howie Silbiger, Team Katherine Korakakis: 631

Côte-Saint-Luc, Montreal West, Hampstead

Samara Perez, Team Katherine Korakakis: 1,110

Paola Samuel, Team Joe Ortona: 1,607

Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve–Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie–Plateau-Mont-Royal–Anjou–Montreal-Est

Maria Corsi, Team Joe Ortona: 1,121