(Quebec) After failing to deliver the 2,600 4-year-old kindergarten classes on time – a flagship commitment from CAQ for which the Prime Minister put his seat on the line in 2018 – François Legault reiterates that “the impossible is possible is not necessary” and now hopes to be able to complete his engagement “as soon as possible.
Posted 11:08 am Updated 11:12 am
“I want all parents to have access to 4-year-old kindergartens as soon as possible,” said the Prime Minister on Wednesday on the way to the Blue Room. “Well, as my wife often tells me, nobody has to do the impossible. So we will try to do this as soon as possible, but we all have to understand that we have a shortage of teachers,” he added.
On Tuesday, Education Secretary Bernard Drainville announced in a TVA interview that he was postponing the delivery of 2,600 4-year kindergarten classes to 2029-2030, which is expected to be a third term for the Coalition avenir Quebec.
The CAQ minister justified this shift with the same arguments that had led his predecessor to slow the pace last term: shortage of teaching staff and shortage of space in schools to open these classes.
“We’re at 1600 [classes de maternelles 4 ans au Québec]. The goal is 2600. We are about 1000 short. Instead of saying that we will make 1000 [classes] by 2025 we realize it would be irresponsible to say so. So we’re going to spread it out over time,” he said on Tuesday.
The prime minister argued that his government had no choice but to address “the reality” of labor shortages in the education sector. “There is a shortage. I’m not dogmatic, I’m pragmatic. So I always intend to offer access to all parents who want access to the 4-year kindergarten,” he explained to a press crowd.
The prime minister repeated the same remarks in the Blue Room as he was hounded by the opposition over his decision to postpone the deadline.
“Today is an admission of failure,” said interim leader of the Liberal Party, Marc Tanguay.
“Mr. Drainville has seen the light. It’s just a shame that before him Mr. [Jean-François] Roberge did not see it, and it is particularly unfortunate that François Legault did not see it at the outset,” said Quebec Solidaire parliamentary leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.
PQ MP Pascal Bérubé recalled that the “family choice” remains the CPEs. “The Prime Minister has put his place for the 4-year-old kindergarten on the line. So is his seat in play today? Going to a 4-year-old kindergarten was never a good idea,” he added.
François Legault also praised the CPE model on Wednesday. “Parents of 4-year-old children who like the CPEs better because the CPEs are open 12 months a year, the opening hours are also longer during the day, and the CPEs also have excellent educators. But if kids have learning difficulties, kindergartens for 4-year-olds in a primary school where there are remedial teachers… I think that’s a good idea,” he said.
The creation of 4-year-old kindergartens is a flagship promise of the CAQ. In 2018, during the election campaign that led to François Legault becoming prime minister for the first time, he put his seat on the line by promising to fulfill his promise to offer a 4-year kindergarten to all children in Quebec. .
However, this promise developed during the first mandate. It has grown from 5,000 open classes by 2023-2024 to 2,600 classes by 2025-2026. With Tuesday’s latest update, the CAQ is re-examining that goal and now promising to achieve it four years later.
With Hugo Pilon Larose