Large Rallies Support Public Schools and Those Who Defend Them

Montreal rally, December 22, 2023.

On December 22, a rally in support of public schools and the teachers who defend them was held in front of Premier François Legault's office in Montreal. Hundreds and hundreds of people turned out to salute the struggle of teachers, particularly those from the Autonomous Teachers' Federation (FAE), who have been on strike for 22 days. Speakers – mostly beloved Quebec artists – along with rights activists, union representatives and teachers, expressed in turn their social solidarity with striking teachers and all public sector workers.

Emerging from the speeches was a deep consciousness that it is Quebec teachers and their colleagues in educational institutions who are defending a national project for public education, where the conditions of those who work in public education enable young people to flourish and acquire the knowledge they need to help build a modern Quebec. Many challenged the Legault government, exposing how its refusal to respond to teachers' demands makes it an enemy of public services that meet the needs of the people of Quebec.

These are a few extracts from the speeches:

- "A teacher raises a human being! That elevates society! A teacher raises Quebec! It's high time the Legault government stepped up its proposals and its discourse!"

- "We know that this struggle begins with you. You are the ones who fight day after day so that your students confidently overcome obstacles, so that they discover their talents and come to understand the world around them. And it's because you haven't been given the means to accomplish this work, this mission, that you're on strike. It's in the name of public schools that you've taken to the streets. It's time this government gave you the means to do your job, so that it can continue to have meaning."

- "You should be celebrated; you should be admired. Instead you're trying to make your voice heard. [...] You create wealth in Quebec. It's time to stop seeing education as a cost to get out of the excel picture.  Mr. Legault must treat it as the real investment."

- "[W]omen will stand up to take care of the society you are neglecting and dismantling. To all those on the streets, out in the cold, never forget your value even when your government offers you crumbs. Never forget where you come from. If we drop all this, it's not the public service we're dropping. We're not bringing unions to heel. We're abandoning a society. And no one — not a single Quebecer -- deserves that."

- "A functioning education and health care system is only possible when what real work means is valued, when the dialogue and humanism required to do it and accomplish it are given space. The government is trying to exhaust you, to divide you, but it has forgotten that you are on strike to fight this exhaustion. Against this broken and sick system of management, it is you who are there."

At the end of the rally, all speakers pledged to continue their actions of support in January. They affirmed that they will not leave teachers alone in this battle because it concerns the whole of Quebec.

A similar rally was held in Quebec City in front of the National Assembly. Many families joined the teachers to show their support. One mother, as quoted by the Journal de Québec, said, "The determination of the teachers touches me. There's something broken in our education system. It needs attention and we feel that the Quebec government doesn't understand it." Several students also took part in the action. "I'm here to help the teachers convince the government [to do better]. There are students in my class who are struggling, and my teacher, whom I adore, needs more support. She needs eight arms to help everyone," said one girl.

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This article was published in

Volume 53 Number 12 - December 2023

Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2023/Articles/M5301212.HTM

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