Father charged after alleged bullying incident at Quebec school
A father has been charged with assault and uttering threats after he allegedly went after his son's apparent bully in a confrontation outside a high school about 80 kilometres northeast of Montreal.
The incident has drawn the attention of Quebec's education minister who said he wants answers after the altercation involving multiple students was caught on video. Meanwhile, parents say the École Pierre-De-Lestage in Berthierville, Que. is known to have frequent fights.
The video shows at least three high school students, including one who pushes a boy over while yelling at him. The boy gets up but the story doesn't end there.
In a second video, the father of the boy who appears to be bullied confronts the youth and yells that he'll put them in the ground if they touch his son again. The exchange ends with one of the students appearing to be pushed into the snow.
Parents of children who attend the school say the torment has become too common.
"I'm fed up. I'm really fed up," said Sophie Girard, whose 16-year-old daughter was bullied so badly that she said she contemplated taking her own life last year.
"Every day, she's told to go kill herself," the mother said. "She got a message at the beginning of the year with a picture of her sitting in class from behind and it said by the end of the year I'll send you to the hospital."
Education Minister Bernard Drainville said he was "very troubled" by the incident and has asked the school's service centre to look into the matter.
"Very, very saddened. And I want to know what happened," Drainville said Wednesday.
He said that since 2006, every school is supposed to have an anti-bullying and anti-violence plan.
While the minister said the first video is upsetting, "We must also say that we cannot condone in any way, shape or form a parent who decides to make justice himself."
The Centre multiservice des Samares didn't respond to an interview request on Wednesday.
Parents say there are often fights at the school and accuse staff of not intervening.
"I went and picked up my daughter from school and I had to get involved because no one was bothering to step in," said Girard, adding that when punishments are given out, they aren't severe enough.
Her daughter missed so many classes to get away from tormentors that she had to repeat the 8th grade.
"Parents have reached that point of frustration," she said, adding that they are trying to protect their children.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Sick to my stomach': People grieve Jasper National Park by sharing favourite photos
As an out-of-control wildfire roared through Alberta’s famed Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday, many are fearing the worst as officials warned of 'significant loss' within the area.
DEVELOPING Jasper wildfire burns buildings, while poor air quality forces some fire crews out
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
Canadian women's soccer team staffer given suspended prison sentence over drone incident, prosecutor says
A Canada women's soccer team staffer has been given an eight-month suspended prison sentence after flying a drone to film the closed-door training session of the New Zealand team on Monday, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
Sale of envoy's NYC condo 'expected to exceed' $9M: government
The current official residence for Canada's representative in New York City is 'being readied for sale,' according to a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada.
'I'm so broke': Two Toronto women speak out after losing $76,000 in romance scam
Two women from the Toronto area are speaking out after losing thousands of dollars to a romance scam, including a single mother who lost $62,000.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Loblaw, George Weston to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500-million to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.
EXCLUSIVE One address, 76 foreign currency dealers: Inside Canada's money service business 'clusters'
An IJF and CTV News investigation has found dozens of cases across Canada where multiple money services businesses (MSBs) are incorporated at the same address, sometimes without the knowledge or consent of the location's actual occupant. One money laundering expert calls it an 'abuse of the system.'
An unwelcome attendee has joined the Paris Olympic Games: COVID-19
After a handful of Australian water polo players tested positive for COVID-19 this week, questions have emerged around how the spread of the disease will be mitigated at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.