What could François Legault have been thinking? He created false hope for hundreds of thousands of young people and parents on Wednesday by declaring that he expected students to be able to return to class on Monday.
Several parents immediately sent a message to their young people who are suffering from this longest strike in decades.
Me first.
When the Prime Minister steps forward like that in the public square, after a fortnight of strike, it must be in his pocket, I thought.
But no!
It was just a wish. A hope.
The PM could have kept his hopes to himself, instead of spreading them and playing yo-yo with our emotions.
Even internally, government teams are stunned by the Prime Minister’s unrestrained outings, which are harming negotiations.
The priorities?
Union leaders are also guilty of continuing to fuel confrontation.
It is becoming increasingly clear that from the start of the strike, the two clans took for granted that there would be no agreement allowing a return to class before Christmas.
And it’s shameful.
The Press revealed that last weekend, the two parties were negotiating peripheral points such as changes to parental leave.
How is it that after months of discussions, and several days of strike, the negotiations were not more focused on the heart of the problem, namely the help to be given to teachers to lighten the workload in classes?
How can we calmly discuss points like these, and pretend that the well-being of young people is at the heart of the concerns?
It’s urgent
It’s frankly taking us for fools.
During the pandemic, children and teenagers were cut off from their school environment, deprived of sports and activities, but at least they continued learning remotely.
The government and the unions are engaging in heartbreaking theater, while a cohort of young people are paying the price.
This week, representatives of parent committees, pediatricians and other education experts came out publicly, pleading for a return to class as quickly as possible.
Their wise words, unfortunately, have remained like balloons launched into the sky, which we watch helplessly.
The government and the unions had a duty not to come to this.
Not to further penalize thousands of young people already weakened by the pandemic.
And yet…