Liberal MP Marwah Rizqy made a splash on Wednesday by filing a complaint in the middle of question period, targeting a teacher who allegedly impregnated two of his students.
She was indignant at the inaction of the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, who had still not launched an investigation, because he was waiting for the complaint to be forwarded to him. He talked about possible changes to the current law.
At the end of the day, the minister declined to comment, striding past media representatives.
According to Quebecor media, the teacher still works at the Chemin-du-Roy school service center in Mauricie. It was when he was teaching in a private school that he would have first had an affair with a teenager, who would have had a child by him. Subsequently, he would have fallen in love with another student with whom he would have had three children. The Canadian Press could not validate this information.
During question period on Wednesday morning, Ms.me Rizqy first demanded that an investigation be launched and that in the meantime, the man’s teaching certificate be withdrawn. She also called for an investigation into the management of the complaint which was filed by a parent.
Mr. Drainville took refuge behind the fact that he still had not received a complaint and therefore had not yet launched the investigation.
“Any natural person can lodge a complaint with the Minister against a teacher for serious misconduct committed during the exercise of his duties, he explained. The complaint must be in writing, reasoned and made under oath. »
Mme Rizqy replied that the minister had the power to initiate an investigation ex officio, under the law. She held up the copy of the complaint filed on August 28 at the School Services Center and tabled it in the House, immediately.
“How is it that I, in the opposition, am able to get my hands on the said complaint? Therefore, I am obliged to file a complaint. I send it to you by e-mail and I officially ask you to launch the investigation. »
The Minister seemed surprised and reacted cautiously. He wanted to check whether this procedure is legally valid.
“The understanding of the law that was transmitted to me by our legal services is that the complaint must be sent to me directly by the person who had knowledge of the fault, by the teacher or by the teacher. »
At the end of the question period, Mr. Drainville repeated that he asked that the complaints be forwarded to him.
Then, at the end of the meeting of the Council of Ministers, at the end of the afternoon, he refused to answer questions concerning the complaint filed by Mr.me Rizqy, or bureaucratic obstacles concerning the launching of an investigation.
In the House, he assured that his ministry had asked to send him the complaint, but that he was still waiting for it. Mr. Drainville suggested that legislative changes might be necessary.
“I’m thinking about it very seriously, I’m looking at our options,” he concluded.