38. Whenever the commissioners or trustees of a school municipality, by whatever law governed, have allowed one year or more to elapse without having any school in operation in their own municipality, the Government, on the recommendation of the Minister, for reasons deemed advantageous and after having published a notice to that effect in two consecutive issues of the Gazette officielle du Québec, may annex the whole or part of the territory of such municipality, as regards Catholics or Protestants, to the territory of one or more neighbouring school municipalities.
In the case of a territory governed by two or more corporations of school commissioners or trustees, the Government, on the recommendation of the Minister, for the same reasons and following the same procedure, may also, whenever it deems proper to do so, erect such territory as one or more separate school municipalities for Catholics or Protestants, as the case may be.
Such annexation or erection shall take effect on the first of July following the date of the relevant order in council.
R. S. 1964, c. 235, s. 48.