Drainville's remarks about teachers' salaries are scornful, says Marwah Rizqy

Quebec -

Education Minister Bernard Drainville is dismissive of teachers when he insinuates that they are less deserving of a significant pay raise than MNAs, according to Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy.

In an interview with Le Devoir on Monday, Drainville was asked why Quebec teachers don't deserve to be among the highest paid in Canada, while MNAss are on their way to becoming so.

The CAQ government introduced a bill to increase the pay of MNAs in the national assembly by 30 per cent. Teachers have been offered at least a 9 per cent increase over five years.

Drainville responded that the comparison was flawed and demagogic, and that the work of teachers could not be compared to that of MNAs.

LISTEN on CJAD 800: Mulcair: Bernard Drainville's contempt for teachers

Liberal education critic Marwah Rizqy called this "contemptuous." The former university and elementary school teacher herself reminded us on her social networks that the job of a teacher is backbreaking.

"I can say that a teacher can be an excellent MNA, but the reverse is less true! #Misunderstood," Rizqy said on Twitter.

In the interview, Drainville acknowledged that teachers don't earn enough and that public sector bargaining is underway.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 17, 2023.