Prime Minister François Legault distributed Easter chocolates on Monday to students at a completely renovated elementary school in Montreal. The head of government acknowledged that “unacceptable conditions” prevail in too many Quebec schools. Mr. Legault has learned that school buildings in Montreal are in even worse condition than he thought.
Flanked by the Youppi mascot, the Prime Minister distributed chocolates to practically all the students at Saint-Nom-de-Jésus school in the Hochelaga district. This school was closed for seven years due to mould. It reopened in 2019 after being rebuilt at a cost of $12.4 million.
“There are many schools, especially in Montreal, that offer unacceptable conditions. We are talking about half of the schools that are not up to standard, ”said François Legault after meeting the president of the Alliance of Teachers of Montreal, Catherine Beauvais St-Pierre.
She recalled that it is rather 89% of the schools of the Center de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM) that are in “bad” or “very bad” condition. A figure confirmed by the Service Center. Across Quebec, 59% of schools are considered dilapidated, compared to 56% last year.
“The Prime Minister was surprised, he thought half of our schools were dilapidated, but it’s closer to 90%. We know it, when we teach in schools, we see that our schools need love, ”reacted Catherine Beauvais St-Pierre. She called on the government to give a real boost to curb the deterioration of schools.
“Huge catch-up”
François Legault recalled that his government has invested record sums in the construction and renovation of schools since the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) came to power in the fall of 2018. “We doubled the budget, but this is still not enough, we have a huge catch-up to do,” he acknowledged.
Education remains “the priority of priorities” of the CAQ, insisted François Legault. He pledged to continue investing to overcome the shortage of all categories of school personnel.
Teachers and children were delighted to welcome the Prime Minister and his retinue to their newly renovated school. Several had their pictures taken with François Legault during this visit, which looked like an election campaign. A sixth-grade student, however, remained on his appetite: he questioned François Legault on systemic racism. The Prime Minister reiterated his position that this does not exist in Quebec.
“He didn’t want to admit that there is systemic racism. It annoys me, because there is a lot of racism against Indigenous people and against other categories of people, ”reacted Charles, the student who arrested Mr. Legault.