Report from Inspector I.J.W. McGown following a visit to Sainte-Catherine boarding school

As a response to la guerre des éteignoirs – a period of popular unrest following the adoption of the School Law of 1846 – the State created the position of school inspector which lasted from1851 to 1964, or until the establishment of the Quebec Ministry of Education. The role of these school inspectors named by the Department of Public Instruction was, among other things, to explain the law to the citizens, visit the schools, verify the school records and accounting ledgers, evaluate the teaching staff, promote pedagogical methods and classify the schools. A visit by the inspector, like that of the commissioner or the pastor, was an important event in a school year and was prepared for very carefully.