CAQ rejects motion to regulate cell phone use at school
The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) blocked a Parti Québécois (PQ) motion Tuesday calling for the regulation of cell phone use in elementary and high school classrooms.
PQ MNA for Matane-Matapédia, Pascal Bérubé, who has a teaching background, hoped to see this regulation in place before the start of the school year.
His motion at the National Assembly argued that cell phones harm student concentration and motivation.
It noted that other jurisdictions have adopted measures on cell phone use in schools and observed positive effects on student socialization.
These measures also help reduce bullying on social networks, the motion claims.
The text was presented jointly with the Liberal MNA for Saint-Laurent, Marwah Rizqy, the Québec solidaire MNA for Mercier, Ruba Ghazal, and the independent MNA for Vaudreuil, Marie-Claude Nichols.
To win this support, the PQ was required to replace the word "prohibit" with "encadrer" (frame).
Still, the government opposed the motion through its deputy House leader, Mathieu Lévesque, who rose to declare: "No consent."
Last month, 92 per cent of the 7,000 teachers surveyed by the Fédération des syndicats de l'enseignement (FSE) union said they supported a ban on cell phones in the classroom, except for certain educational activities.
FSE president Josée Scalabrini told the Journal de Québec that teachers wanted to reduce classroom distractions and were increasingly concerned about being filmed without their knowledge by students.
"It's a struggle," she said. "There were years when it was the cap in the classroom or the gum in the mouth, but now it's the cell phone."
In the past, Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville has indicated that he's "open to considering" a general ban.
In 2021, several experts highlighted screens' harmful effects on eyesight, sleep and weight during the Consultation sur la santé des jeunes et l'utilisation des écrans (consultation on youth health and screen use).
But screens can also have benefits, experts said; for example, cell phones at school can enable various teaching approaches.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 31, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.