Christine Labrie, MNA for Sherbrooke and member responsible for education and the family for Québec solidaire, was quick to react to Education Minister Jean-François Roberge’s plan to reopen primary schools and daycares.
“The plan presented today (Monday) raises many more questions than answers,” Labrie said in a statement following the announcement. “Will there be enough room and staff to accommodate classes of 15 students and to ensure that distances are kept to a minimum during transportation? Given the shortage we had before the crisis, I doubt it. Will there be new teaching or only revision? Will the schools act more like day camps? What will be offered to accompany students who stay at home? Parents do not want to penalize their children and need these answers to make an informed decision,” the MNA said.
“What we have heard today is not a gradual recovery either,” Labrie went on. “We are told that in the next two weeks we absolutely must continue to respect all the distancing measures, and there is no indication that parks, sports centres and libraries, for example, will reopen before the schools, or even that children will be able to start playing with each other before they return to school. Yet all of this would have addressed the government’s concerns for the well-being of children.”
According to Labrie, since the beginning of the crisis, the management of education issues has been deficient.
“Too many families have been plagued by anxiety and incomprehension. The announcement to reopen schools is no exception. The Minister should have taken more time and worked with the network to develop the reopening plan, because the current scenario seems to have been developed mainly to allow parents to work,” Labrie said.
Sherbrooke MNA schools ed minister
Record Staff