Impressive Teachers' Demonstration in the Outaouais Demands Quebec Government Take Up Its Social Responsibilities
On Monday morning, December 4, close to 3,000 teachers, some coming from as far as Papineauville, closed a section of boulevard de la Carrière and St-Joseph in Gatineau to "march without trembling." The slogan was an intended pun referring to Hull CAQ MP Suzanne Tremblay, who before being elected as MP in the last elections, was the president of the Outaouais Teachers' Union (SEO).
In its call for the demonstration, the SEO wrote: "It is high time we force our CAQ MPs in the Outaouais to commit themselves in this round of negotiations. Their silence has lasted long enough. Seeing as they refuse to take the initiative and speak out, we will visit them collectively and ask them questions. The first person we will visit is Suzanne Tremblay, MP for the Hull riding and government assistant to the minister of Education."
Before beginning the march starting at the Lac-Leamy Casino, the current president of the SEO said that union members felt betrayed by their former president. She stated that the union will not leave any sector aside in these negotiations. "For the past 25 years, things have deteriorated in education. Did the Premier really think he would succeed in convincing us to go back to work by shedding a few tears?" She was referring to a recent theatrical performance by Quebec Premier François Legault who went public to ask that the strike be stopped because it was "hurting the children." The union immediately fired back on social media by stating that what was hurting students was the decades-long deterioration of public education.
Everyone then marched to the Hull MP's constituency office where they demonstrated loudly. By turning out in such great numbers, SEO teachers are showing their determination in securing their rights to working conditions and salaries acceptable to them for the work they do and for upholding their social responsibilities, and which meet their needs and those of their students. They are demanding that the government listen to them and that it take up its own responsibilities with regard to education, to teachers, students, parents, and society as a whole.
This article was published in
Number 61 - December 15, 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2023/Articles/WO10616.HTM
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