Quebec schools are safe, insists education minister
Quebec students are not in danger, Bernard Drainville insisted Wednesday.
The province's education minister was responding to a question from Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy, who had just reported an increase in violence in schools.
In particular, she mentioned the case of a teenager who was recently attacked with a hammer on the grounds of a high school in Montreal North.
According to the MNA, last year, school service centres in Quebec reported twice as many violent acts as in 2018-2019, before the pandemic.
In addition, the workplace health and safety board (CNESST) received about twice as many claims from school staff, she said.
Due to these circumstances, the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP) is asking the province's culture and education commission to take on a mandate to consult with experts.
The Liberal interim leader Marc Tanguay stood up in the legislature to cite the example of a mother in Beauport, Quebec, who withdrew her daughter from elementary school because she felt unsafe.
"I find it unbelievable that with his question, the leader of the official opposition is encouraging parents to homeschool," said Premier François Legault in response.
Drainville later added to Legault's comments, saying he didn't want "this idea that sending our child to school is putting them in danger" to take hold.
"School, for the very, very, very large majority, is safe for their child,'' he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 1, 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.