Montrealers rally against education cuts ahead of back-to-school season
Protesters say partially reversing $570 million in budget cuts is not enough
Around fifty teachers, parents, students and citizens assembled on Sherbrooke St. E. on the evening of Aug. 25 to show their discontent regarding the recent roller coaster of changes made to education funding by the Legault government.
The protest, organized by Uni-es pour l'École, was held outside the former headquarters of the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM). The organization said in a press release that it is fighting for “massive reinvestment in education.”
In June, Quebec Minister of Education Bernard Drainville announced that the Education budget would be slashed by $570 million.
The ministry backtracked on these cuts mid-July, announcing a sum of $540 million would be distributed this school year across the provincial education system.
Speakers from different education labour unions addressed the crowd.
“Education is the future, the future of the next generation, of those who will take over, and it should not be subject to accounting exercises,” said Stéphane Soumis, vice president of the Fédération du personnel de soutien scolaire (FPSS-CSQ). Protestors rang cowbells alongside blasting pop music, waved signs with messages like “L’école va mal,” and waved flags representing education labour unions like the professional association of administrative staff (APPA), ahead of the first day of school across the province.
School began on Aug. 27 for CSSDM students, while most English-speaking boards resume classes throughout the week, into early September.
“You don't build a strong society by weakening its public education system, " said Catherine Beauvais-St-Pierre, president of the Alliance des Professeurs et Professeurs de Montréal (APPM).
“The positions have already been cut. The classes have already been closed, so it’s too late.” — Rachel Saintus-Hyppolite
“We refuse to let our students pay the price for political games,” Beauvais-St-Pierre added.
The APPM represents nearly 9,000 teachers working at the CSSDM. The president raised concerns about how the cuts would affect students who are already in vulnerable positions.
“We know the consequences of these cuts: less support for our students with difficulties, our students with learning disabilities, our students with adjustment difficulties, our students who are learning French,” Beauvais-St-Pierre said. “This results in overcrowded classrooms and exhausted teachers who don't know where to turn and who also have to make heartbreaking choices.
Rachel Saintus-Hyppolite is an elementary school teacher who has been teaching in Côte-des-Neiges for the past five years, and supports students learning French. The recent cuts mean that she and her colleagues will not have the same access to speech therapists and other resources to support students.
“It will be difficult […] for teachers to ask [for] help if we don't have the people there,” Saintus-Hyppolite said.
While the government’s announcement suggests the $540 million will return to the schools immediately, Uni-es pour l'École member Karine Desruisseaux says that this backtracking is not enough to reverse the effects of the $570 million budget cuts back in June.
“The positions have already been cut. The classes have already been closed, so it's too late,” Desruisseaux said.
Desruisseaux, who is also the parent of a child in elementary school, got involved with Uni-es in the summer in response to budget cuts but has long been critical of the Montreal school system.
“Even before all this, the school system was already weak because of the underfunding,” Desruisseaux said. “Now we're asking not only to go back on this full promise, not just the $540 [million] with all the red tape.”
The demonstration was Uni-es pour l'École’s first event of their week of mobilization, lasting from Aug. 25 to Aug. 29.
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