Regroupement scolaire confessionnel

The Regroupement scolaire confessionnel (RSC) was a political party in the educational system of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from 1990 to 2003. The party governed the Montreal Catholic School Commission (MCSC) from 1990 to 1998 and later formed the official opposition on the successor Commission scolaire de Montréal (CSDM).

The RSC was founded in 1990 by twelve sitting commissioners, including MCSC chair Michel Pallascio, as a vehicle to contest the 1990 elections. It was supported by the Mouvement scolaire confessionnel (MSC), a coalition of Roman Catholic groups that had dominated school commission politics since 1973 by endorsing candidates on an individual basis. One opposition commissioner described the RSC's creation as nothing more than a change in name, saying that it represented the same conservative ideology as the MSC.

The RSC supported the continuation of Quebec's denominational school system, at a time when the opposition Mouvement pour une école moderne et ouverte (MÉMO) favoured a change to language-based boards. Pallascio argued that his party was focused on the preservation of Quebec's language, religion, and traditions, while opponents described it as reactionary and arch-conservative in its religious views. Some opponents also accused the RSC of intolerance toward minority communities and of ignoring issues such as school violence and sex education.

During the 1990 school board elections, Pallascio argued that Quebec should favour immigration from Europe over other parts of the world, saying that persons "who do not share [...] Judeo-Christian values" would be more difficult to integrate into Quebec society. This statement was widely criticized; an editorial in the Montreal Gazette described the RSC as "display[ing] the repugnant instincts of an archaic clique."

The RSC won a narrow victory in the 1990 school board elections, taking 11 out of 21 seats. MÉMO won nine seats and the remaining seat went to an independent. Pallascio was personally defeated in his district, although he continued as RSC party leader after the election. RSC member Denise Soucy-Brousseau was chosen to be Pallascio's successor as chair of the commission and served for a year before resigning amid controversy. She was replaced by Francois Ouimet.

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