Barely a week after the start of the school year, discontent is already rumbling through Québec’s schools. Unions are denouncing unstable budgets and major staff cuts. The collective Uni-es pour l’École (in english: United for school) is calling for massive reinvestment and greater local autonomy. Meanwhile, teachers are sounding the alarm about the situation.
These criticisms come in the wake of $570 million in cuts announced by Quebec at the end of last school year. Faced with widespread opposition, Education Minister Bernard Drainville partially backtracked, reinstating $540 million to the budget. However, this move still leaves a $30 million hole, in addition to a hiring freeze that prevents the replacement of vacant positions, except when they are deemed “directly” related to student services.
An anonymous testimony, relayed by the Uni-es pour L’École collective, illustrates the impact of the cuts. “Our school administration has cut each class's budget by about $430. The school has nearly 600 students,” says one teacher.
She explains that this cut deprives classes of basic materials such as educational supplies, art tools, field trips, or even simple chalk for the blackboard.
“It's a bit like asking a doctor to pay for bandages, syringes, or scalpels out of their own pocket to treat their patients,” she says.
This teacher is not alone in experiencing difficulties. Myriam Chassé echoes her sentiments in a long post on Facebook. She teaches at a school that serves many young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, some of whom do not have meals, family stability or basic comforts.
“So yes, I pay out of my own pocket for snacks, hygiene products, and school supplies. Sometimes I even give them part of my lunch or snacks,” the teacher says.
She denounces “a massive disinvestment that deprives our students of essential resources.”
“These aren't just ‘cuts,’” Chaussé continues. “They are lost opportunities, doors that are closing, extracurricular activities that are being eliminated. Spaces where our young people could hang on, take a breather, and believe in themselves… are gradually disappearing. It's ridiculous and unthinkable.”
Furthermore, “it pains me to see my colleagues visibly exhausted, worn out from having to deliver impossible results with ever-dwindling resources. But they manage. It's incredible, isn't it?” she emphasizes.
“Know one thing, Mr. Drainville: despite your cuts and your decisions that are sometimes disconnected from the reality on the ground, we will be there. We will continue to teach with dedication, passion, and resilience. Because our students did not choose this situation. They do not deserve to be the victims of your choices and your (too numerous) cuts,” concludes Myriam Chaussé.
The unions get involved
“While students are returning to school, many of the direct services intended for them have been weakened by the elimination of essential positions, despite the recent partial correction to the budget,” said Éric Pronovost, president of the Fédération du personnel de soutien scolaire (Federation of School Support Personnel). He points out that a hiring freeze has exacerbated the labour shortage and further paralyzed the system.
This summer, the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement (FAE) denounced Bernard Drainville's “disastrous” management. It accuses him of cutting more than $1 billion in student services and school maintenance, reducing adult French language training, centralizing power in his own hands, restricting teachers' rights, and increasing bureaucracy by imposing new administrative tasks on teachers.
The Coalition des partenaires en éducation, which brings together the largest unions in the sector, is also harsh in its criticism. “For a government that has repeatedly said that education is a priority, how is it that it does not feel the full importance of education for Quebecers?”
Parents mobilize
The Uni-es pour l'école collective held a week of action from August 25 to 29, reporting to have mobilized hundreds of people.
“Recent cuts to education have strained the budgets of our schools and training centres,” it said on Facebook. “Hundreds of employees were laid off at the last minute at the end of June,” the organization wrote.
“Schools are being reduced to four walls and ‘one responsible adult per class,’” lamented the collective, denouncing the fact that, meanwhile, the government is choosing to invest billions in major projects such as Northvolt and SAAQclic.
“Enough is enough! It stops here,” concluded Uni-es pour l'École.