Unions were seen and heard on Friday, on the second day of public consultations on Bill 23 reforming school governance.
In the morning, members of the Fédération du personnel de soutien scolaire (FPSS-CSQ) dressed in period costumes gathered near the National Assembly to the sound of music by Bach.
They distributed to the deputies tracts, rolled up like parchments, on which the Minister of Education, “His Majesty King Bernard Drainville”, was accused of wanting to appropriate all the powers to better “reign”.
“No to the monarchy! could be read on some posters that were brandished by the protesters. A “visibility action” which was necessary, in the opinion of the vice-president of the FPSS-CSQ, Dominic Latouche.
“He recovers all the powers!, He denounced in an interview. We wanted to give the power to the parents, here we go back, it starts from above to go down, and this is not how it should be in education. »
A little further, in front of the parliament, a hundred members of the Autonomous Federation of Education (FAE) waved red smoke sticks while blowing trumpets.
The president of the FAE, Mélanie Hubert, denounced in front of her troops the “smokescreen” that is Bill 23, according to her. The FAE demands the pure and simple withdrawal of the piece of legislation.
“The minister shows that he takes care of things, that he puts certain elements in place, but in the end, nothing changes on the ground. He fools the population by pretending to take care of it, ”said Mr.me Hubert.
On Thursday, the entourage of Prime Minister François Legault had described on Twitter the groups which expressed reservations about the bill as “forces of inertia”.
Mr. Drainville had promised in a scrum to “resist resistance to change”.
Remember that the study of Bill 23 is taking place in the context of negotiations for a new collective agreement for the public sector.
Disputes over distance education
The Minister seemed particularly irritated during the passage in committee of the FAE. His colleague from Beauce-Sud, Samuel Poulin, even said: “When was the last time you were happy with a decision? »
“If being critical is a problem in a democracy, I wonder where we are going,” replied Mme Hubert.
Tempers flared when Mr. Drainville discussed, first with the FAE, then with the Centrale des unions du Québec (CSQ), the proposal to regulate distance education.
Faced with the unions’ reservations, he submitted that a child with cancer, who was receiving chemotherapy treatments at the hospital, could benefit from such a service.
Distance education should not be used to make up for the shortage of manpower, warned Mme Hubert, while the president of the CSQ, Éric Gingras, accused the minister of taking the most “striking” example.
“We should have in the law the possibility of teaching children who are stuck with a closed school because there has been a flood, insisted Mr. Drainville. We should all agree on that! »
“In front of the trade union environment, I am in need of yes”, he added. “Work more with us,” replied tit for tat Line Camerlain, vice-president of the CSQ.
Bill 23 has received mixed reactions since it was tabled on May 4.
If passed, it will give the Minister of Education the power to appoint the directors general of school service centres, to quash their decisions or to dismiss them.
The minister will also be able to supervise the continuing education of teachers, which the unions denounce, which consider that the measure is a frontal attack on the autonomy of teachers.
Furthermore, the bill aims to improve access to data in the network.
He would create the National Institute for Excellence in Education, and transform the Higher Education Council to focus solely on higher education.
Both the FAE and the CSQ expressed concern on Friday that the institute is not truly independent because its members will be appointed by the government.
Special consultations on Bill 23 will continue next week.