The college network must learn from the “failures” that occurred during the recent confinements of three CEGEPs, plead teachers’ unions. In an outing to The Pressthey challenge management to be better prepared for the worst.
Communication problems, “traumatic” police interventions: the unions deplore several “bad shots” in the course of the recent confinements.
“It is on a constructive basis that we want to make this outing. We want things to change, because we are not immune to these situations, “says Yves de Repentigny, vice-president of the National Federation of Quebec Teachers (FNEEQ) immediately responsible for of the CEGEP group.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, ARCHIVES SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Confinement at Lionel-Groulx college, in Sainte-Thérèse, on November 18
On November 18, a minor walking around with a toy gun near Lionel-Groulx College in Sainte-Thérèse forced the confinement of students and school staff for nearly four hours.
“What stood out a lot was the confusion from start to finish,” says Denis Paquin, president of the Lionel-Groulx college teachers’ union.
Indeed, students and staff were first instructed to barricade themselves or evacuate the building. Consequence: the majority of students rushed to the exits.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Denis Paquin, President of the Lionel-Groulx College Teachers’ Union
Several teachers thought they might have put their students’ lives in danger if a shooter had been outside. They went through a lot of guilt.
Denis Paquin, President of the Lionel-Groulx College Teachers’ Union
In addition, not everyone heard the instruction, the intercoms being in the corridors, he adds.
According to the union, the last training on active shooters offered to teachers dates back several years. An emergency protocol is posted online, but it’s hard to find.
“It’s as if we learned as we went along what we had to do. It’s not the time to learn when this kind of situation happens, ”deplores Denis Paquin, who nevertheless welcomes the presence of psychosocial workers, quickly dispatched to the scene.
In a recommendation voted on at the end of November, the FNEEQ asks CEGEP directors to update their emergency measures plans and to ensure that they are transmitted at the start of the session.
It is also calling on Quebec to grant funds dedicated to the purchase of equipment aimed at ensuring the safety of students and staff, for example, two-way intercoms and emergency kits in the classroom.
“Aquarium classes”
“There are places where it is not possible to confine oneself”, launches in turn Amélie Therrien, president of the union of teachers at Montmorency college.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Amélie Therrien, president of the teachers’ union at Collège Montmorency
At the beginning of November, hundreds of people had been confined for four hours in the college located in Laval. Shots were fired in a nearby park, injuring four people who then took refuge inside the establishment.
Some students had taken refuge in almost completely glassed-in “aquarium classrooms”. “It is often in these classes that the furniture is fixed to the floor. How can we barricade ourselves? », Raises Mme Therrien.
In addition, several teachers did not know the procedure to follow, the latest training “dating back too long”.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Police intervention at Montmorency College in Laval on November 11
The union also deplores the lack of communication during the police operation. Those confined inside the school remained in the dark for hours, checking social media for information.
“There is a class that left before the end of confinement. The teacher was not able to retain the students, because they were not receiving any information, ”says Amélie Therrien.
“Traumatic” interventions
A few hours earlier, a similar scene took place at Cégep Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.
PHOTO LAURIANNE GERVAIS COURCHESNE, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
An individual who had made threats was arrested on the grounds of Cégep Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu on November 11.
An individual who had uttered threats had been arrested on school grounds. For more than three hours, hundreds of students were instructed to confine themselves within the walls of the establishment.
According to the teachers’ union at Cégep Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, the police “tried to enter the premises without announcing themselves to ensure that they were barricaded”.
“It traumatized both teachers and young people. It caused anxiety attacks, ”laments its president, Vanessa Pelland.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Vanessa Pelland, teachers’ union at Cégep Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
We have to go see the police forces to find out how they operate in the field to be able to better prepare the college community.
Vanessa Pelland, teachers’ union at Cégep Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
“A shared concern”, says the Federation of CEGEPs
The findings raised by the unions are “a shared concern that has already been taken up by the establishments,” says the president and CEO of the Fédération des cégeps, Bernard Tremblay.
” I think [les confinements] went very well. On the other hand, it remains that we must take stock and that we must all be aware of the fact that these situations can and will probably happen again,” he underlines.
Mr. Tremblay adds that the CEGEPs “took stock” of the progress of the confinements during a recent meeting. The Ministry of Higher Education has also sent a letter to all establishments, asking them to review their emergency measures plan.