(Quebec) The Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, is preparing a strategy to combat violence in schools.
He made the announcement on Friday, during an arrest at the Blue Room, after Liberal MP Marwah Rizqy reported an increase in violent incidents across Quebec.
The elected representative of Saint-Laurent explained that she had made access to information requests and obtained data, in particular on the seizure of weapons, such as guns, near schools.
In Laval, the police seized 14 weapons in 2021-2022, compared to six in 2018-2019. In Repentigny, we went from zero to 14 weapons seized in two years, she illustrated.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Education Minister Bernard Drainville
“There is no child who will learn fear in the stomach, then there is no staff member […] who will want to stay if we don’t send a clear message that we are taking the situation seriously,” said Ms.me Rizqy.
Mr. Drainville acknowledged that schools in Quebec were experiencing “increasingly pressing challenges”, saying he was “extremely worried” about this violence, which he said could be the result of the pandemic.
“We are preparing a strategy to fight against violence,” he said. I asked my teams to get back to me as soon as possible with this strategy. »
The Minister specified that several “means are already in place”. For example, police are present in some schools. “If we need to add (means), we will add more,” he said.
He denied Ms.me Rizqy to study the phenomenon in a parliamentary committee and consult the opposition parties before tabling the strategy.
Sexual assault: a telephone line created
In addition, Mr. Drainville announced the creation of a telephone line for reporting and denouncing sexual assaults. An email address already exists: it is signalements@éducation.gouv.qc.ca.
The phone line will be activated in the coming days, the minister said, without giving further details.
Last Tuesday, Mr. Drainville launched a “general scope” investigation following multiple reports and allegations of misconduct of a sexual nature in the school network.
He was notably arrested by the deputy of Quebec solidaire Ruba Ghazal about sexual assaults of which the students of a secondary school in Cowansville, in the Eastern Townships, were allegedly victims.
Friday, M.me Rizqy asked the minister to add an independent firm to his ministry’s investigation, in order to dispel any appearance of conflict of interest.