As the walkout in the public sector approaches, parents gathered Thursday morning around a dozen public schools in Quebec to show their support for the demands of education workers. A citizen initiative with which Québec Solidaire (QS) was associated.
“The quality of education is the future of our children,” thundered a woman through a loudspeaker in front of the Saint-Fidèle primary school in Limoilou on Thursday morning.
At the height of the event, including the children and QS deputies, there were nearly a hundred surrounding the school and the playground. Hand in hand, they wanted to create a “human chain” to show their support.
Twelve schools in Quebec were part of the movement, in the Limoilou, Maizerets, Saint-Sauveur, Vanier and Montcalm sectors. Two schools from Montreal and Bas-Saint-Laurent also participated.
A group of five women from Quebec are behind this initiative. “Having fewer teachers, fewer teachers, has an impact on our children, it sure stresses us out,” explained Claire Murati, mother of two children attending Saint-Fidèle school. “We really want to show our support.”
Ms. Murati says that last year, her son had twelve consecutive substitutes in fifth grade after his teacher left on sick leave. ” It is enormous. This is not good for the stability of education. »
Strong presence of QS
Several elected officials from Québec Solidaire took part in the demonstration Thursday, including its co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. “We are always on the side of parents, teachers, all employees of the public network,” he said.
QS believes that the working conditions of school staff must be improved to counter the labor shortage. “It goes through salaries but it also goes through the composition of the class,” added the MP for Mercier and education spokesperson for the party Ruba Ghazal. She said, it is about ensuring that teachers “come to teach” but also “do not leave”, she clarified.
The demonstration comes as the Public Sector Common Front prepares to walk out on November 6. Union representatives were also present in front of École Saint-Fidèle Thursday morning.