(Quebec) Quebec’s cities are “angry” at the Legault government, which has required them to give up buildings and land for free to build or expand schools since 2020. They are calling on Secretary of Education Bernard Drainville to remedy the situation with his school administration reform.
Posted at 1:41 am. Updated at 5:00 p.m.
In an interview with La Presse, the mayor of Varennes in Montérégie and president of the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ), Martin Damphousse, is not angry. His association, which represents 85% of the province’s population, was not even entitled to a receipt when he tried to attend the public hearings on Law 23, which end on Wednesday.
“Have you ever seen that education is a municipal responsibility? It never was! […] In 2020, the government added a provision in the middle of the night and by order of confidentiality without consultation [au projet de loi 40] This enables school service centers [d’imposer] Cities with the land they want for future schools,” he denounces.
Result: Since the law was passed, 18% of cities have been forced to transfer buildings or land to the school association free of charge. Some expropriations had to be made.
A survey conducted by UMQ estimates the average value of properties sold at 2.9 million. For some municipalities, the bill is even higher. A $6.1 million building has been sold in Montreal. Another building in Lanaudière was valued at 4.5 million.
“In Otterburn Park, [un terrain cédé] cost the city $12 million. That’s the value of their annual budget! However, it is not our responsibility,” affirms Mr. Damphousse. In 2020, former UMQ President and now CAQ Minister Suzanne Roy regretted that the government is giving unelected individuals the power to intervene in cities’ tax sphere.
Consequence: In order to comply with the law and to meet the requirements of the school service centers, the cities apply these expenses to their debt. Previously, former school authorities and municipalities had to negotiate. Quebec complained that school construction projects were dragging on due to a lack of agreement.
Densification of cities and schools
The President of the UMQ, Martin Damphousse, believes that the logic of cities that want to densify their territory must also apply to the school environment. In the future, schools must be built on high ground instead of taking up “huge land”.
PHOTO ANDRÉ PICHETTE, ARCHIVE LA PRESSE
Martin Damphousse, Mayor of Varennes and President of the Union of Municipalities of Quebec
Instead of using their mobile phones, young people go up the stairs and do sports. That is a good thing ! The reality is that we need four times less land area for the same building.
Martin Damphousse, President of the UMQ
The current regime, stresses Mr Damphousse, “does not hold water”. Each time a school service center board renews itself and claims land, “new towns are angry and discontent grows.”
CEOs fear for their jobs
In addition, the general directors of school service centers that Education Minister Bernard Drainville wants to be able to appoint or dismiss in the future fear for their positions.
“There is certainly a fear and we propose [au ministre d’intégrer] a safety net with a formal assessment process from the beginning of the year, in which expectations are fleshed out,” says Lucien Maltais, President of the Association des Directions Générale Scolaire du Québec (ADGSQ).
In his Bill 23, Mr. Drainville gives himself the powers previously exercised by the boards of school service centers to appoint their directors-general. It also uses the levers that allow it to reverse decisions made locally if it believes they are at odds with government guidance.
Mr Maltais fears that this new power, which he is proposing to remove from the bill, will be used to make the government look bad, according to media headlines.
However, difficult decisions made by management are sometimes necessary and considered, he says.
“If the minister still wants to continue [ce nouveau pouvoir]he would do well to form a committee to do so [analyser] all relevant information used for decision-making. If this decision does not comply with the laws and regulations, [le ministre pourra] revise,” said the President of the ADGSQ.
According to him, this new power, which the minister is giving himself, is “useless and could, in individual cases, result in [avec] a quick judgment of a situation without having absorbed all the information”.