History

The Way We Were in 1965 - "OPERATION 55"

The Ministry of Education, in response to the Parent Commission Report, creates fifty-five Regional School Boards to provide secondary services throughout Quebec.

The counties of Gatineau, Hull, Papineau and Aylmer, as well as those constituting 'the Pontiac' would be served by a newly created Ottawa Valley Protestant Regional School Board. English Catholic services would be provided by Catholic Regional School Boards.

Under the supervision of the OVPRSB, two regional comprehensive secondary schools were completed by September 1968 to service English Protestant students from the Pontiac and Hull-Aylmer-Papineau regions of West Quebec. Pontiac Protestant High School and Philemon Wright Regional High School welcomed upwards of 650 and 1700 pupils respectively.

The Ottawa Valley board provided continuing Education courses to adult candidates throughout its territory commencing September 1968.

The elementary school populations of those same areas were represented by:

• Pontiac Protestant Central School Board, a board constituted to represent twelve (12) smaller boards, and
• Seven district school boards ranging throughout the counties of Aylmer, Hull, Gatineau, Papineau and Namur.

Elementary and Secondary education in the North West was provided by ten (10) local boards that would represent English protestant populations from Temiscaming in the South West to Matagami situated some 140 kilometres south of James Bay.

And How We changed in 1972 - Amalgamation of Local Boards

The Ottawa Valley Protestant Regional School Board was renamed and became the Protestant Regional School Board of Western Quebec.

Under Law 27 the Protestant School Board of Northwestern Quebec is created from a regrouping of ten (10) local boards. This newly formed board delegates the education of its pupils to the P.R.S.B.W.Q. which now has a responsibility for pupils spread throughout a territory four times the size of Belgium.

Also under Law 27, the seven school boards located in Aylmer, Aylwin, Hull, Gatineau and Papineau counties are amalgamated under the Greater Hull School Board. This board retains the responsibility for elementary education throughout its territory.

Law 27 also saw the creation of the Pontiac Protestant School Board which also chose to provide for elementary services throughout its territory.

And Then Again in 1981 - Delegation of Instruction

The Greater Hull and Pontiac Protestant boards delegate the education of its elementary pupils to the Western Quebec Protestant School Board.

The three 'local' boards (Pontiac, Greater Hull and Northwestern Quebec) continue to exist locally and to collect taxes.

Throughout this period the George Loosemore School in Rouyn is operated by the Dissentient Board of Rouyn-Noranda which in 1981 will 'also delegate' educational services to be provided by the Western Quebec Protestant School Board.

And Again in 1992 - Integration by Decree

The three 'local' boards cease to exist with all of their rights and responsibilities being transferred to a renamed Western Quebec School Board.

The newly established board (WQSB) continues to entertain local input through a consultation process involving District Administration Committees, comprised of commissioners from the territories of the original local boards.

And Finally in 1998 - Linguistic Boards

The Western Quebec School Board grows from an elementary/secondary population of 6,136 to 8,149 with the addition of seven (7) previously designated Catholic schools to its existing twenty two (22) elementary and secondary schools.

The new Western Quebec School Board will cede some of its territory in the north and east (but none of its schools) to the newly created Central Quebec School Board. Western Quebec School Board will now provide youth and adult education services throughout a territory which is now reduced to approximately twice the size of Nova Scotia.