Proms can go ahead, but with just a month to plan, will they?
A recent announcement by the Quebec government means that high school proms in the province are allowed to happen. But some schools are questioning whether they actually will take place.
On Tuesday, Premier Francois Legault reversed course on a previous ban after public pressure from the class of 2021, saying proms could be held outdoors in tents with no masks or distancing required.
The change left schools scrambling to organize the festivities on extreme short notice, with just a month to plan.
Paul Karpontinis, a teacher at Lester B. Pearson High School in Montreal North said that's far less time than is normally dedicated to organizing.
“These things are very difficult to plan on a moment's notice. At the same time, if all the other schools are in our same position and they're all planning on a moment's notice, there's only so many providers,” he said.
The Association of Montreal School Administrators said they were never consulted by the government, saying Legault's announcement will generate expectations, frustration and unnecessary pressure.
The association said their immediate priority remains ensuring a safe end of the year for students and staff alike and coordinating COVID-19 vaccinations.
At the National Assembly, Legault's political opposition weighed in, with Quebec solidaire co-spokesperson Manon Masse saying his decision is “coming very late and I understand why teachers, directors, find it very short to organize something.”
Liberal leader Dominique Anglade also took aim at the premier.
“Some of them might be able to do so because they're going to be able to organize themselves but again, I would have hoped it would have been sooner,” she said.
Karpontinis said his school's prom won't be quite what students have seen in the past, with a semi-formal event being planned.
“We're trying to balance safety, we're trying to balance our possibilities. At the same time, we want to create something that's going to be memorable for all our students.”
- With reporting from CTV Montreal's Angela Mackenzie
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.