The war of words between the CAQ government and the unions risks dragging out the implementation of urgent solutions for the mental health of teachers in a context of shortage and exhaustion in the education network.
While both parties recognize mental health in education as a priority that requires a real political and institutional commitment, the signing and implementation of new collective agreements will undoubtedly be delayed. Remember that the current agreements, which will expire on March 31, were signed in November 2021 and really came into force at the beginning of 2022, almost two years after the end of the old national agreement.
Everything indicates that it’s going to be a again. On the one hand, Prime Minister François Legault criticizes union leaders for “a logic of closure” in the negotiations. On the other hand, the unions have rejected the government’s offers and denounce a false campaign of misinformation. Nothing new, and this is the very nature of the balance of power between the government and the unions.
In the meantime, the pandemic has left undeniable traces in the education network and has changed the reality of thousands of teachers. Several general and pan-Canadian studies and reports all show a worrying deterioration in the mental health of teachers. The Canadian Teachers’ Federation report, released last year, states that the worrying state of the psychological health of teachers in public schools across Canada has been “caused in part by the increased workload work, uncertainty, inadequate school or school board support, and lack of direction from the ministry. Mobilizing material, financial and institutional resources to deal with teachers’ mental health issues is only a major emergency.
The fact remains that in Quebec, we navigate on sight with regard to the data available to draw up the current portrait of this problem and better mobilize the best resources. There is currently a glaring lack of data and statistics on the mental health of teachers. Not only are the research-intervention initiatives and projects at the embryonic stage, but they are above all fragmentary. Instead of focusing on the mental health of teachers in a single school network, the urgency of this issue requires a global vision that takes into consideration all education systems in Quebec, whether in school service centres, CEGEPs and universities, and aims for concrete results for teachers, students and stakeholders.
Even if the figures are lacking in Quebec, it is not forbidden to think that what is happening at the Canadian, North American and even global scale should inform us about the Quebec reality of the psychological health of professors.
According to the INSPQ, the hospitalization rate for teenage girls aged 15 to 19 for attempted suicide almost tripled between 2007 and 2018. More recently, one of the biggest studies on the mental health of our young people reveals a damning reality: a out of two CEGEP and university students report having anxious or depressive symptoms.
One in three Canadians say they have or have had mental health issues. In a survey conducted in early 2022, 40% of Canadians between the ages of 18 and 34 felt they were at a “breaking point” mentally. According to the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, Canada is ranked sixth out of 33 countries in the Americas for the suicide rate. In the United States in 2021, nearly 60% of teenage girls felt sad or hopeless over a period of at least two weeks.
We cannot repeat it enough: mental health is the central issue of our time.
And it’s not just young adults. Experienced politicians have also had to deal with mental health problems. US Democratic Senator John Fetterman recently revealed that he is suffering from clinical depression and has had to put his political career on hold for the time being. Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, has given up her post to preserve her sanity. In Quebec, it is the precarious situation of nurses that most reflects this problem. Exhausted and saddened, they are often forced to resign to protect their mental health.
This reality impacts what happens inside a classroom. More and more teachers are exhausted and overwhelmed by a workload that continues to increase and become more complex. At the same time, the number of students who need mental health support is becoming more than concerning. Anxiety, stress, depression, sadness, suicidal thoughts among college students have been highlighted for years. And the pandemic has clearly made the crisis worse.
Often, and to deal with it as best they can, many workers opt for the “ quiet quitting ” Or “ great resignation and choose to do only the bare minimum at work. Except that the faculty cannot afford this luxury, even when they want it.
The mental health of teachers and all Quebecers is a major issue and must be seen and negotiated above all as a political choice that goes beyond the contours of collective agreements. Maybe it’s time to think about mental health like we thought about physical health: free and universal.
Need help ? Do not hesitate to call the Quebec Suicide Prevention Line: 1 866 APPELLE (1 866 277-3553).
For help concerning your mental health or that of a loved one, do not hesitate to contact the Info-Social 811 service.