The college network must learn from the ‘mistakes’ made during the recent lockdowns of three CEGEPs, teachers’ unions are pleading. In a trip to La Presse, they urge management to be better prepared for the worst.
Posted at 5:00 am
Communication problems, “traumatic” police operations: The unions regret several “failures” in the wake of the recent exit restrictions.
“We want to make this trip on a constructive basis. We want things to change because we are not immune to these situations,” says Yves de Repentigny, vice president of the National Federation of Quebec Teachers (FNEEQ), who is directly responsible for the CEGEP group.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, ARCHIVE SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Imprisoned at the Lionel Groulx College in Sainte-Thérèse on November 18th
On November 18, a minor walking around with a toy gun near Lionel-Groulx College in Sainte-Thérèse forced the nearly four-hour detention of students and school staff.
“What was most striking was the confusion from start to finish,” says Denis Paquin, president of the Lionel Groulx College Teachers Union.
In fact, students and staff were initially ordered to barricade themselves or evacuate the building. Consequence: The majority of the students rushed to the exits.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Denis Paquin, President of the Lionel-Groulx College Teachers Union
Several teachers thought they would have put their students’ lives in danger if there had been a gunman outside. They went through a lot of guilt.
Denis Paquin, President of the Lionel-Groulx College Teachers Union
Also, since the intercoms are in the hallways, not everyone heard the instruction, he adds.
According to the union, the last active shooter training offered to teachers was several years ago. An emergency protocol is posted online, but it’s hard to find.
“It’s like we’ve learned what to do over time. It is not the time to learn when such a situation arises, ”denies Denis Paquin, who nonetheless welcomes the presence of psychosocial workers who are quickly dispatched to the scene.
In a recommendation voted at the end of November, the FNEEQ urges CEGEP Directors to update their contingency action plans and ensure they are submitted at the start of the meeting.
It is also asking Quebec to allocate funds to purchase equipment aimed at keeping students and staff safe, such as two-way intercoms and emergency kits in classrooms.
“Aquarium Classes”
“There are places where it’s not possible to lock yourself up,” says Amélie Therrien, president of the Montmorency College Teachers’ Union.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Amélie Therrien, President of the Teachers’ Union at Collège Montmorency
In early November, hundreds of people were locked inside Laval College for four hours. Shots were fired in a nearby park, injuring four people who then fled to the bar.
Some students had taken refuge in almost entirely glass “aquarium classrooms”. “In these classes, the furniture is often fixed to the floor. How can we barricade ourselves? ‘ rises Mrs. Therrien.
In addition, several teachers did not know how to proceed because the last training was “too long ago”.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Police operation at Montmorency College in Laval on November 11th
The union also regrets the lack of communication during the police operation. Those locked inside the school remained in the dark for hours, turning to social media for information.
“There is a class that left before the end of confinement. The teacher couldn’t keep the students because they didn’t get any information,” says Amélie Therrien.
“Traumatic” interventions
A few hours earlier, a similar scene took place in Cégep Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.
PHOTO LAURIANNE GERVAIS COURCHESNE, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
A person who made threats was arrested on November 11 at the Cégep Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu compound.
A person who had made threats had been arrested on school premises. For more than three hours, hundreds of students were ordered to lock themselves inside the facility’s walls.
According to teachers’ union Cégep Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, police “tried to enter the premises without reporting to ensure they were barricaded”.
“It has traumatized both teachers and young people. It caused anxiety attacks,” laments its president, Vanessa Pelland.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Vanessa Pelland, Teachers Union of Cégep Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
We need to go to the police forces to find out how they are operating on the ground to better prepare the college community.
Vanessa Pelland, Teachers Union of Cégep Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
“A common concern,” says the association of CEGEPs
The unions’ findings are “a common concern that has already been taken up by companies,” says Fédération des cégeps President and CEO Bernard Tremblay.
” I think that [les confinements] went very well. On the other hand, we have to take stock and be aware that these situations can and probably will happen again,” he stresses.
Mr Tremblay adds that during a recent meeting, CEGEPs took stock of lockdown progress. The Ministry of Higher Education has also sent a letter urging all institutions to revise their emergency response plan.