Prime Minister François Legault maintained that he was not “dogmatic” on Wednesday, explaining the postponement to 2029-2030 of his objective of delivering 2,600 4-year-old kindergarten classes. “We are pragmatic,” he argued, pointing to the shortage of teachers and space in schools.
“I want all parents to have access to 4-year-old kindergarten as soon as possible,” said Mr. Legault in a press scrum. Now, as my wife often tells me: no one is obliged to do the impossible, so we will try to do it as quickly as possible. »
François Legault was answering a question about whether his seat was still in play on this issue, as he said during the 2018 election campaign.
On Tuesday, the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, announced during an interview with TVA Nouvelles that he was postponing from 2025-2026 to 2029-2030 the delivery of 2,600 4-year-old kindergarten classes.
The lack of teachers and space in schools is in question, underlined Mr. Legault. “I am not dogmatic, we are pragmatic,” he said, stressing the need to take into account the reality of teaching staff.
Mr. Drainville, for his part, said that he did not take this decision lightly. “I believe in it, in 4-year-old kindergartens,” he insisted on Wednesday in a press scrum.
“Today, there are almost 1,600 4-year-old kindergarten classes,” said the Minister of Education. And the latter ensures that the government will continue to create them. “This year, we are going to create a hundred according to the projections that were given to us. »
The Prime Minister for his part reiterated that his priority was education. “When a child has learning difficulties, a 4-year-old kindergarten who is in a primary school where there are speech therapists and remedial teachers, I find that it is good for these children. »
A “lack of vision”
At the Blue Room, the interim leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec, Marc Tanguay, accused François Legault of “lacking vision”. “He often makes promises that don’t have enough thought,” he said.
Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois described the CAQ commitment as “poorly put together and poorly organized” “Bernard Drainville’s decision is a total disavowal of Mr. Legault’s obsession with kindergarten four years, ”he said, earlier in a press briefing.
For his part, PQ MP Pascal Bérubé maintained that this project was “never a good idea”. “We have never been promoters of four-year-old kindergarten,” he continued. We are the early childhood centers (CPE), it is known. »