The Administrative Court in Quebec, Canada, accepted the urgent petition of the lawyers representing the management of Belza institutions in Montreal, and ordered the complete annulment of the decision of the provincial state authorities - a decision that sought to revoke government licenses and budgets from the Torah and Hasidic educational institutions in the city.
Following the ruling, the threat that hovered over the start of the school year was suddenly removed, and the three main institutions - the kindergarten, the Talmud Torah, and the small yeshiva - will open their doors as planned, while continuing to receive the full budgets required for their ongoing operation and the well-being of the students.
The decision to deny the budgets was based on a report that presented deficiencies. The report noted a severe shortage of qualified teachers teaching in the district's official languages - English and French, exceeding the scope of teaching hours required by law in core subjects, use of teaching materials not approved by the local Ministry of Education, and even various claims regarding specific safety deficiencies in emergency exits.
The institutions' legal team argued before the judges that this was a "political, draconian and disproportionate step, based on "false factual assumptions and erroneous legal and educational analysis.".
