Students from the Law, Society and Justice Student Association (and others) visited the National Assembly in Quebec City yesterday. Upon arriving, they had lunch in the National Assembly restaurant. Afterwards, they toured the National Assembly and then watched Question Period. The issues that appeared on the news last night (searching high school students, zoning of a mosque in Shawinigan) were seen directly by the students. Once that was done, the students were invited to meet with the Speaker of the National Assembly Mr. Jacques Chagnon. As always, Mr. Chagnon was extraordinarily gracious with our students, answering many questions about his role as Speaker, being neutral in the Assembly and other aspects of his role as a Member of the National Assembly. He invited us back to his office after our other meetings, but we ran out of time and had to leave. Next time for sure.

Afterwards, the students spent 45 minutes with the Minister of Education Yves Bolduc. They asked questions about recent reports on evaluations of the education reform, reductions in the number of school boards, language education in schools, Bill 101, university tuition and teacher pay. They also spent almost an hour with Kathleen Weil, the Minister of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusiveness. They asked questions on immigration, employment of immigrants and qualifications of immigrants and professions – as well as the issue of the building permit for a mosque in Shawinigan that was refused. The preparation and engagement of the students was really something to observe, and led to informative and interesting exchanges with the ministers.