Eleven Montreal teachers who were suspended for allegedly creating a climate of fear and intimidation inside a Montreal primary school were replaced Monday as the union that represents them rejected criticism from the education minister that it didn’t do enough to correct the problem.
Quebec’s largest school service centre announced the suspensions on Saturday night after a government investigation found a “dominant clan” of teachers imposed strict, autocratic rule over students and intimidated colleagues who opposed them, at Bedford school in the city’s multicultural Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood.
During an appearance Sunday on Radio-Canada talk show “Tout le monde en parle,” Education Minister Bernard Drainville alleged the union knew about the issues at the school but did not defend teachers who were opposing the so-called “dominant clan.”
Drainville said it was unclear exactly what officials at the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal, which oversees the school, knew about the situation, but he said the union was aware that some of the teaching staff feared reprisals from their colleagues.
Catherine Beauvais-St-Pierre, president of the Alliance des professeurs de Montréal teachers’ union, accused the minister of throwing union leadership under the bus. “It is either dishonesty, or beyond that, a lack of understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the union, and also of the employer.”
The government report described the group of problematic teachers as mainly being of North African descent, some of whom attended a local mosque together. Those who opposed them included teachers from the same background.
The investigation revealed that the teachers were allegedly influenced by the local mosque. It said they subjected children to physical and psychological violence and either refused to teach or paid little attention to such subjects as science and sex education, a situation that dated back at least seven years.
The 11 teachers were replaced on Monday as a new school week began and they are being paid pending the outcome of disciplinary hearings.
The union said it hasn’t yet filed grievances to challenge the suspensions, adding that it doesn’t have all the information for each case. Beauvais-St-Pierre said last week that while the union has a duty to represent its members, it would not defend the actions they are alleged to have taken part in.
The situation came to light after a report by Montreal’s 98.5 FM in 2023 triggered a government report, which noted the situation had persisted for seven or eight years.
The service centre — similar to a school board — said the 11 teachers will remain suspended for the duration of another investigation mandated by the education minister to determine whether they committed serious misconduct or dishonoured the teaching profession.
Get daily National news
Speaking in Quebec City, Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon called for tougher rules around secularism to fight “religious infiltration and ideological infiltration.” He said his party would devote this week to reinforcing secularism in schools as politicians return to the legislature.
“We’re saying we need to take notice that it’s a problem of religion entering our schools … (and) that the current law and the current mechanisms are obviously not working well,” St-Pierre Plamondon told a news conference.
“There’s a question everywhere in the Western world right now as to how you make sure that there’s an acceptable space for everyone in schools,” he added. “And, in the case of Bedford, obviously, there was no space for anything but a religious approach to school.”
The government has appointed monitors to keep tabs on the school and report back by Nov. 30.
The education department is also conducting audits of three other Montreal schools — two elementary schools and a high school — that allegedly had similar problems related to the school environment and governance.
— With files from Lia Lévesque
====
Eleven teachers at a Montreal elementary school have been suspended after a government investigation found they fostered a “toxic” climate of fear and intimidation.
In a move it described as unprecedented, the Centre de services scolaires de Montréal said its director general asked administrators to immediately suspend the teachers at Bedford school in the city’s multicultural Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood.
It said Isabelle Gélinas made the decision Thursday evening after a provincial investigative committee passed on the names of educators who allegedly subjected students to violence as well as claims that autism does not exist.
The suspensions will continue until investigative committees have wrapped up their work, Quebec’s largest school service centre said Saturday evening.
“These committees are charged with determining whether these 11 teachers have committed a serious fault or an act derogatory to the honour or dignity of the teaching profession in the performance of their duties,” it said.
Educational services at the primary school will be reorganized starting Monday alongside plans “to re-establish a healthy and safe climate,” the service centre said. Substitute teachers have been designated and support services put in place for Bedford students.
Last week, the Quebec government appointed monitors to address the harmful environment it said had taken root at the French-language school.
They are slated to investigate the allegations and report back by Nov. 30 with recommendations and an action plan.
Quebec’s measures follow an Education Department report made public earlier this month concluding there was a “dominant clan” of teachers who imposed strict, autocratic rule over students and intimidated and ostracized anyone who opposed them.
Detailing events between 2016 and 2024, the report said children at the school were subjected to physical and psychological violence, and teachers refused to teach or paid little attention to subjects such as oral communication, science, religion and sex education. Learning difficulties and autism didn’t exist for some teachers, it said.
“The evidence gathered tends to show that some teachers at Bedford school would benefit from developing their knowledge and understanding of learning disabilities and neurodevelopmental disorders,” the report stated, noting that some teachers believed excessive discipline and control would work and denied kids additional help to which they were entitled.
“They act with the idea of ’breaking’ the student and getting them back on the right path,” it read.
The government’s investigation was triggered by a series of radio reports by Montreal 98.5 FM beginning in May 2023 about a toxic climate at the school. Education department employees conducted more than 102 hours of interviews with 73 people and attended a governing board meeting. Their work was carried out between November 2023 and last April.
The testimonies provided a portrait of the situation spanning about seven or eight years, and revealed that a quick succession of school directors came and went during that period. The vast majority of students at the school did not speak Quebec’s official language as their first language; only about 20 per cent spoke French at home.
The report described the group of problematic teachers as being of North African descent, some of whom attended a local mosque together. It said a representative from the mosque met one year with the school’s administration, explaining “the importance of having good relations with the Muslims of the neighbourhood and of the school.” Witnesses told the government investigators that the local Muslim community carried a “strong influence” on several of the school’s staff members.
However, the report mentioned that there were staff members of North African descent who opposed the way the “dominant clan” was acting.
Education Minister Bernard Drainville has ordered audits at three other schools — two elementary schools and a high school — under the governance of the same service centre as Bedford, and allegedly with similar problems related to climate and governance.
— With files from Sidhartha Banerjee
Comments