institution in Ontario, including its affiliated or federated institutions, that receives operating grants from the Government of Ontario301 Furthermore, unlike Alberta and British Columbia, the Ontario Education Act specifically allows a foreign national who is less than 18 years old and otherwise eligible to attend primary or secondary school to do so, even if they are unlawfully in Canada. 302 This ensures compliance with s. 30(2) of the IRPA and prevents children in Ontario from being excluded from school merely because they or their parents are unlawfully living in Canada. The Government of Ontario has issued a Policy/Program Memorandum on the admission of persons who do not have any legal status. The Policy instructs schools and school boards to not refuse admission of students even if their parents do not have: proof of immigration status or proof that they have applied for status, a work permit or social insurance number, or Ontario Health Insurance Program (OHIP) coverage.303 When a child without legal status is able to attend an Ontario public school, the Policy also clarifies that the student will not be required to pay fees.304 This latter rule implements Canada’s obligations under Article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Ontario. Despite the right of all children in Ontario to attend public school without the payment of fees, even when they are illegally in Canada, there are reports identifying barriers to the right. One example is that school board administrators do not always implement the Policy in practice.305 Quebec Education Legislation In Quebec, elementary education includes Kindergarten to Grade 6. Secondary school includes Grade 7 to Grade 11.306 Following Grade 11, Quebec offers Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel (CÉGEP) for 2-3 years. This provides students with a publically funded “postsecondary” college diploma in general and vocational education. These diplomas are required for students who wish to study at a university.307 Under Quebec’s Education Act, every person is entitled to preschool education services and elementary and secondary school instructional services provided for under the Education Act. Every person is entitled from the age of admission to preschool, which is 5 years old, or Ontario Education Act, supra note 69 at s. 49(7). Ibid., at s. 49.1, “[a] person who is otherwise entitled to be admitted to a school and who is less than eighteen years of age shall not be refused admission because the person or the person’s parent or guardian is unlawfully in Canada.” 303 Ministry of Education, “Policy/Program Memorandum No. 136”, available at: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/extra/eng/ppm/136.html [Policy/Program Memorandum No. 136]. 304 Ibid. 305 Social Planning Toronto, The Right to Learn: Access to Public Education for Non-Status Immigrants (June 2008), available at: http://tinyurl.com/nd9ftv6; Social Planning Toronto, Policy without Practice: Barriers to Enrollment for Non-Status Immigrant Students in Toronto’s Catholic Schools (July 2010), available at: http://tinyurl.com/pthutl7. 306 Statistics Canada, “Levels within pre-elementary and elementary-secondary schools, by jurisdiction”(13 December 2010), available at: available at: http://tinyurl.com/ohrzfg9. 307 Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, Education in Quebec: An Overview (2006), at 4-7, available at: http://tinyurl.com/oet27nr. 301 302 64

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