The prolonged closure of a pavilion at the Cégep de Saint-Laurent complicates the work of its teachers, who fear that this fate will be reserved for other wings of this aging heritage building. A case in point which testifies to the “vicious circle” in which the Quebec college network is plunged, which has seen its financial needs for building maintenance double in three years, reaching $700 million.
“It makes no sense that a building of this heritage value was allowed to deteriorate due to a structural funding problem,” laments teacher Jennifer Beaudry, who is also president of the Union office. professors from the Cégep de Saint-Laurent. Last December, the Montreal establishment had to urgently close its Pavilion B.
Since then, partitions have been raised on one floor of the library in order to delimit four classrooms, until this pavilion, which was barricaded, can once again accommodate students. However, this will not be the case for a while, concedes the college’s communications manager, Gabrielle C. Poirier. The procedures underway in this pavilion, which also has several office spaces, are still only at the inspection stage, and the cost of future work remains unknown. One thing is certain, Pavilion B will not be open in time for the next school year, next fall, confirms Mme Poirier.
What particularly concerns Jennifer Beaudry, however, is the prospect that Pavilion A, which has many classrooms, will in turn be evacuated, following inspections which will be carried out this summer in the building. The CEGEP management also met with its teachers this week to discuss with them the measures that could be put in place if this “disaster” scenario materializes, indicates M.me Poirier. Among the options being considered is asking teachers to give classes in the evening, until 8 p.m., two hours later than their current schedule, we learned. The duty.
“It’s still the teachers who will have to adapt,” sighs Jennifer Beaudry, according to whom “the worst is yet to come.” In its latest budget, Quebec estimates the asset maintenance deficit in the Saint-Laurent CEGEP buildings at $20.5 million.
CEGEPs that are deteriorating
The case of this Montreal CEGEP, although striking, is not trivial. In recent years, CEGEPs have deteriorated at an astonishing rate, to the point where only 35% of buildings in the Quebec college network are today considered to be in satisfactory condition, a percentage which has fallen by 14% in two years. , according to data published as part of the presentation of the latest Quebec budget. The province is thus halfway to its target, which is to have 70% of CEGEP real estate deemed to be in good condition by March 2026.
From water infiltration problems to those linked to insulation, windows and plumbing, inconveniences are accumulating in the buildings of the 48 CEGEPs in the province. So much so that the asset maintenance deficit is now $700.5 million, up from $326.2 million just three years ago, according to government data. Added to this is an additional $63 million that the college network would need to meet various equipment needs, particularly technological ones.
“We definitely feel it. We are seeing more and more problems with the ceilings, walls and floors of our CEGEPs,” says Duty the president of the Quebec College Student Federation, Laurence Mallette-Léonard. “It is important to act quickly, because it is current students who are suffering from the deterioration of our CEGEPs,” she emphasizes.
Despite the increase in needs, the funding allocated to maintaining the real estate assets of the college network is stagnating, deplores the Fédération des cégeps. She specifies that the funding provided for this purpose amounts to $107.5 million in the latest budget, the same amount as last year.
“We see that the infrastructure of primary and secondary schools has improved. The infrastructure of the university network too. The network that is in the worst shape is the college network,” says Bernard Tremblay, president and CEO of the Fédération des cégeps, according to whom the latest provincial budget neglects the needs in terms of maintenance and upgrading. CEGEP level.
“A vicious circle” in the region
The current financial context particularly affects the 12 members of the Regroupement des cégeps de régional, who must deal with challenges in retaining their students, tempted by large centers, which further undermines their ability to properly maintain their buildings, notes its president, Sylvain Gaudreault. The CEGEPs of Chicoutimi and Rimouski are also among the three college establishments accumulating the largest deficit in maintaining their buildings in Quebec, while the CEGEP of Jonquière occupies eighth place in this sad list (see other text).
“It’s like a vicious circle, in the sense that if we want to attract students to regional CEGEPs, we must have quality infrastructure,” underlines Mr. Gaudreault, who is also general director of the CEGEP de Jonquière. However, there is currently a lack of funds to enable maintenance and upgrade work in these establishments, which are struggling with a decline in their student population.
“We are a bit stuck in maintaining our assets, but also making investments to be able to be competitive, to be up to date and to attract new students,” continues Sylvain Gaudreault, according to whom the model of funding from Quebec “no longer meets the needs of regional CEGEPs”.
By email, the Ministry of Higher Education emphasizes that “the significant increase in construction costs in recent years has forced several establishments to postpone the completion of certain maintenance work.” However, he indicates that he plans to invest 2.1 billion over the next 10 years in order to “fill a portion of the asset maintenance deficit” in the province’s CEGEPs.