Many have asserted in recent days that the Minister of Education has no power. He would be prevented by collective agreements from changing the school calendar, which makes his catch-up plan appear weak in the eyes of certain commentators.
However, laws take precedence over collective agreements. The minister could modify the school calendar considering that the Education Act provides for 180 school days.
Bernard Drainville preferred to use volunteering to mobilize school staff in a catch-up plan which remains ambitious. The choice of the minister appears to me to be the most judicious in the circumstances, and we will be able to assess the results in the light of history.
One thing is certain, the plan was well received in circles and among many education experts.
The den of power
The CAQ government has not accustomed us to powerlessness. He has ruled largely by decree during the pandemic and has been a coward more often than not.
It is not the unions that have been this government’s main embarrassment so far, despite its efforts to make us believe so. It is his way of exercising power by looking for culprits in others and denying himself any accountability, thus making him appear powerless.
It has long been known that the Ministries of Education and Health go over the heads of ministers without them being able to tame the beast. They would need a lot of managerial courage and work very hard to master the state apparatus.
Unfortunately, ministers prefer to keep up appearances and pull a variety of scapegoats out of their hats while often being poorly advised by their cabinet.
Minister Dubé, demolisher-in-chief of our health system, gave a fine example of ministerial lack of responsibility by trying to make people believe that it is the negligence of citizens that explains the overflow in emergencies. Santé Québec will become its ultimate shelter to avoid accountability for its bad decisions.
The balance of rights
On the eve of the general assemblies which will decide on the agreements in principle, there is much hope that education and health will return to normal and that real improvements will be made.
According to my sources, much remains to be done to tackle the major problems of our public networks, and continued work will be required at local and regional levels.
The effect of the strikes should fade by the end of the year and can no longer be invoked as an infringement of the right to education. The debate on the right to quality education for all will remain relevant. The same could be said for health services.
Citizens’ rights are violated by three-tier education and health systems. Fortunately, there are more and more defenders of our public networks.