Latest news with #Drainville
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Quebec to mandate formal 'vous' in schools for respect. Teachers say 'leave it to us'
Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville says he wants to improve civility in the province's schools by requiring students to address their teachers using a title, such as Mr. or Ms., as well as the more formal and polite form of 'you' in French — vous rather than tu. Schools will also have an obligation to formalize the value of respect in their codes of conduct and parents will have to sign that code to ensure they are aware of it. Using vous is a sign of respect, Drainville said during a Friday interview on Radio-Canada's Tout un matin French radio show. "I think we need that in schools right now," he said, adding it's about respecting adults and respecting one's function and the institution it represents. Drainville acknowledged that using vous wasn't like "waving a magic wand," but said it was only one of many measures to improve the climate in schools across the province. The measure came alongside the announcement of a full ban on cellphones in schools starting next school year. WATCH | The latest on Quebec's plan for a cellphone ban in schools: 'It should be left up to each teacher' Robert Green, a social sciences teacher at Westmount High School on the island of Montreal, said the minister's announcement left him feeling frustrated. Ultimately, he feels it should be up to teachers to decide what they'd prefer to be called. "If a teacher feels that, I don't know, using their first name in class helps them establish a better rapport with their students, that should be up to their professional judgment to decide this," he said. The Fédération des syndicats de l'enseignement (FSE-CSQ), a federation of unions representing some 95,000 teachers in the province, is of the same opinion. FSE-CSQ spokesperson Sylvie Lemieux said the federation wasn't against the use of titles or vous, but said that it shouldn't be mandated. "It should be left up to each teacher to establish a relationship with their students," she said. Furthermore, most teachers feel the use of vous wouldn't do much to address the problem of incivility in schools, according to a survey conducted by the FSE-CSQ last year. Of the more than 7,000 members who participated, only six per cent felt it could be an effective measure. The same survey found that 83 per cent of teachers believe that incivility has increased over the past two years, with 56 per cent saying they experience incivility at least one to four times a day. Teachers also believe that incivility affects students' concentration and reduces the time spent on learning. More work for teachers, association says Green said he feels there are more meaningful ways to tackle the issue and that structural problems such as class size need to be addressed. Large classrooms, with 33 students or more, can be difficult to handle, he said. "When students are packed into classes like that, behaviour issues inevitably arise ... and the ability of teachers to kind of keep track of student behaviour and even establish a rapport with students is diminished," Green said. Steven Le Sueur, president of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers, worries about enforcing the new rules. "We're not in the 1950s ... you're going to send the kid home because he didn't say Sir or Mr.?" he asked. While Drainville said it would be left up to schools to decide what kind of discipline should be imposed for infringing the code of conduct, Le Sueur said it could create more work for teachers. "Unless we get support from the parents, administration, school board, it's falling on the teachers again. And it's not like we don't have enough to do," he said.
CBC
03-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Quebec to mandate formal 'vous' in schools for respect. Teachers say leave it to us
Social Sharing Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville says he wants to improve civility in the province's schools by requiring students to address their teachers using a title, such as Mr. or Ms., as well as the more formal and polite form of 'you' in French — vous rather than tu. Schools will also have an obligation to formalize the value of respect in their codes of conduct and parents will have to sign that code to ensure they are aware of it. Using vous is a sign of respect, Drainville said during a Friday interview on Radio-Canada's Tout un matin French radio show. "I think we need that in schools right now," he said, adding it's about respecting adults and respecting one's function and the institution it represents. Drainville acknowledged that using vous wasn't like "waving a magic wand," but said it was only one of many measures to improve the climate in schools across the province. The measure came alongside the announcement of a full ban on cellphones in schools starting next school year. WATCH | The latest on Quebec's plan for a cellphone ban in schools: Full cellphone ban part of new 'civility' rules in Quebec schools 1 day ago Duration 2:43 New regulations will prohibit students in public and private schools from using electronic devices on school property as of September 2025. Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville hopes the regulation will lead to better concentration and socialization between students. The rules also set requirements for how students address teachers and staff. 'It should be left up to each teacher' Robert Green, a social sciences teacher at Westmount High School on the island of Montreal, said the minister's announcement left him feeling frustrated. Ultimately, he feels it should be up to teachers to decide what they'd prefer to be called. "If a teacher feels that, I don't know, using their first name in class helps them establish a better rapport with their students, that should be up to their professional judgment to decide this," he said. The Fédération des syndicats de l'enseignement (FSE-CSQ), a federation of unions representing some 95,000 teachers in the province, is of the same opinion. FSE-CSQ spokesperson Sylvie Lemieux said the federation wasn't against the use of titles or vous, but said that it shouldn't be mandated. "It should be left up to each teacher to establish a relationship with their students," she said. Furthermore, most teachers feel the use of vous wouldn't do much to address the problem of incivility in schools, according to a survey conducted by the FSE-CSQ last year. Of the more than 7,000 members who participated, only six per cent felt it could be an effective measure. The same survey found that 83 per cent of teachers believe that incivility has increased over the past two years, with 56 per cent saying they experience incivility at least one to four times a day. Teachers also believe that incivility affects students' concentration and reduces the time spent on learning. More work for teachers, association says Green said he feels there are more meaningful ways to tackle the issue and that structural problems such as class size need to be addressed. Large classrooms, with 33 students or more, can be difficult to handle, he said. "When students are packed into classes like that, behaviour issues inevitably arise ... and the ability of teachers to kind of keep track of student behaviour and even establish a rapport with students is diminished," Green said. Steven Le Sueur, president of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers, worries about enforcing the new rules. "We're not in the 1950s ... you're going to send the kid home because he didn't say Sir or Mr.?" he asked. While Drainville said it would be left up to schools to decide what kind of discipline should be imposed for infringing the code of conduct, Le Sueur said it could create more work for teachers. "Unless we get support from the parents, administration, school board, it's falling on the teachers again. And it's not like we don't have enough to do," he said.
CTV News
01-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Cellphones to be banned from Quebec schools
A cellphone is seen in a classroom. (File) The Quebec government says it will ban cellphones from primary and secondary schools by the start of the next school year. The information was first reported by Radio-Canada and confirmed by The Canadian Press. Cellphones have already been banned from classrooms since January 2024. The government's new measure will extend the ban from the beginning to the end of classes, including breaks and on school grounds. Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville is expected to make an official announcement later on in the day on Thursday. The measure is the first of a series of recommendations by the Select Committee on the Impacts of Screens and Social Media on Young People's Health and Development, which tabled its initial report on April 22. At the time, Drainville said that he welcomed the report with 'great interest and openness.' – This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 1, 2024.
Montreal Gazette
01-05-2025
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
Opinion: FACE is a Montreal success. Quebec must not mess with it
This month, Quebecers learned that the cost of renovating the Gérard-D.-Lévesque building — home to the Finance Department in Quebec City — has ballooned from $188 million to $340 million. The project has been hit by delays and is now expected to be completed in April 2027, some 18 months later than the last revised target date. Apparently, the Quebec government can find hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade offices for bureaucrats, some on hybrid work schedules that don't require them to show up every day. But when it comes to investing in FACE, a unique school that unites English and French students under one roof in a first-rate arts-based program, suddenly, the money isn't there. FACE is more than just a school. It's a rare and remarkable collaboration between the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM) and the English Montreal School Board (EMSB), housed in a downtown Montreal building with deep historical and cultural roots. For nearly 50 years, it has offered bilingual, bicultural and coeducational learning in music, drama and the arts. Without consultation and with little more than a Friday afternoon press release, Education Minister Bernard Drainville cancelled long-promised renovations to the FACE building, citing rising costs — from $150 million to $375 million. What began as a temporary relocation of elementary students to a building in Plateau-Mont-Royal and high school students to the old Baron Byng/Sun Youth Organization facility has morphed into a permanent dismantling of the unified FACE model. The decision was made unilaterally and the EMSB was informed just an hour before the public. It's safe to assume the CSSDM — created by the government to replace elected school boards in the French sector — was likewise sidelined. No consultation. No transparency. No respect for the communities affected. This is not just a betrayal of the FACE community — it's a broader betrayal of Quebecers who value education, co-operation and the arts. Drainville's lack of engagement in real dialogue reflects a troubling pattern of top-down governance and disregard for the rights of the English-speaking community. These rights — affirmed by the courts — include the ability to manage and control our schools. Yet here we are, learning of this decree the same way the public did: through the media. Had the minister bothered to consult, he would have heard what parents, educators and students know: FACE works. Its integrated approach builds bridges between languages and cultures, between older and younger students, and between disciplines. Its graduates thrive — not only in the arts, but in medicine, science and beyond. FACE isn't just an academic success — it's a social and cultural one. So what now? We are calling on the Quebec government to reverse course and reopen a dialogue. The CSSDM, EMSB and FACE parent communities must be part of the solution. Perhaps phased renovations can make the project more affordable. Perhaps a new site could house both programs under one roof. But the starting point must be this: the FACE model must be preserved. In tough economic times, governments have to make choices. But investing in young people, in education and in a model that fosters unity and excellence — this is not an expense; it's an investment in our collective future. Instead of building lavish offices for bureaucrats, let's prioritize the future of our students. Let's keep FACE whole. Joe Ortona is the chair of the English Montreal School Board.
Montreal Gazette
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
English school boards blast Bill 94 as an abuse of government power
Quebec Politics By QUEBEC — A presentation Thursday of Quebec English school boards' view on a new bill reinforcing secularism in Quebec schools slipped into a heated debate over the significance of religious symbols. In a 15-minute virtual exchange, all in French, between Education Minister Bernard Drainville and the president of the Quebec English School Board Association (QESBA), Joe Ortona, visions clashed on the central pillar of the bill. 'Do you agree with me that wearing a religious symbol is sending a religious message,' Drainville asked Ortona during a presentation to the committee of the legislature examining Bill 94, an act to reinforce laicity in the education network. 'Not at all,' Ortona replied crisply. 'It's a personal choice. Our teachers are evaluated on their competences and their neutrality and not on their clothes. Imposing a ban on symbols would target personal beliefs.' Adding a second layer to his argument, Ortona told Drainville the Coalition Avenir Québec government itself recognizes it is in violation of such rights itself because it has opted to makes use of the Constitution's notwithstanding clause overriding rights and freedoms to shield Bill 94 from court challenges. 'But people who see a religious symbol you are wearing get a religious message,' Drainville persisted. 'Religion is a personal choice as is wearing certain clothing,' Ortona countered. 'It does not make a classroom into a religious institution. I think even children can make this distinction. And they probably don't even know certain clothing has a religious significance.' Drainville said some teachers have voluntarily chosen to remove their symbols while working, a sign some employees feel their employment in a school carries responsibilities. He also said it is false to say people have lost jobs over the law. But Ortona countered that teachers removed religious symbols not by choice, but to follow the law. 'We maintain that a right is a right,' he said. 'We judge our workers on the quality of their teaching. This is how we judge our school personnel. Not on their clothing.' The clash of visions was inevitable. QESBA is involved in the legal challenge to Bill 21 on state secularism, which imposed the first ban in 2019 on persons in authority, such as teachers, from wearing religious symbols such as a hijab, turban or crucifix while on the job. Conceived in the wake of incidents of religion creeping into Bedford elementary school in Côte-des-Neiges in 2024 and other institutions, Bill 94 proposes to expand the ban to cover everyone working in a school, from janitors and cafeteria workers to library volunteers and the plumber who enters the school to fix the sink. In its brief to the committee, QESBA argues the 'wall-to-wall' measures Bill 94 will impose on the entire school network are based on isolated events at Bedford and 'fragmentary findings that are far from a solid evidentiary basis to justify new binding legislative measures.' 'Bill 94 is a sledgehammer solution in search of a problem,' the brief says. 'This bill instrumentalizes the concept of laicity, creating a false problem to justify excessive centralization of powers. It sets a dangerous precedent for the balance between teachers' duties, individual rights and institutional responsibilities.' The legislation also does not take into account that the English network, which includes nine school boards, is not subject to the same governance regime as the French system, the brief adds. The English boards benefit from the protection of Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which for now means the new law can't apply. None of those considerations were discussed by Drainille in his exchange with Ortona. Drainville instead questioned Ortona for his views on clauses in the bill, such as the one that would put an end to teachers booking off for religious holidays. Ortona responded that the issue is not really a problem in the English boards because collective agreements already include provisions for staff to be absent for personal reasons 'with no justification needed.' Asked by Drainville if he considers the notwithstanding clause a legitimate tool, Ortona answered it depends on how a government uses it. As the exchange closed, a flustered Drainville asked Ortona: 'Is there anything good in the law or should it all be tossed in the trash?' 'The short answer is no,' answered Ortona. 'It solves no problems and is of no use.' Ortona also levelled some criticism at the government for allowing the Bedford situation drag on for seven years before acting. 'If it goes all the way to the minister, it has gone on too long,' Ortona said, adding a situation like this would never have been allowed to drag on in the English school system. The QESBA presented its brief on the last day of hearings into the legislation, which will now forward to the next step in the adoption process. The government hopes to have the bill adopted before the June recess. Opinions have been split on the bill. While some pro-secularism groups such as the Mouvement laïque Québécois welcomed the legislation and urged it to go further, others, particularly unions representing thousands of teachers, questioned how the bill can be applied. On Thursday, the Centrale des syndicats du Québec representing 225,000 teachers, presented a brief calling for a moratorium on the expanded ban on religious symbols so the government and unions can assess the real impact it will have. CSQ president Éric Gingras told the committee the ban risks aggravating the current personnel shortages in the network, which will only deprive students of quality services. 'It will have a negative impact on a network that does not need any more negative impacts,' Gingras said in an exchange with Drainville. Éric Pronovost, also with the CSQ, highlighted practical problems enforcing the ban. He mentioned the example of a school employee going to the home of a student to offer help and encountering the student's fully veiled mother. Under the bill, the employee could not offer a service because he or she has to respect the law, which requires uncovered faces at all times between parties. 'The employee thus becomes an intrusion,' Pronovost said. 'The bill creates a pressure on the employee going to deliver a service. How are we to manage this on the ground?' Drainville responded the mother would be allowed to wear a hijab that does not cover the face, but had no further answers. The Association Montréalaise des directions d'établissements scolaire also said the bill will cause still more shortages in the network. 'How will be able to recruit volunteers for our libraries with this?' asked association president Kathleen Legault.
