Sexual misconduct in Quebec schools: parents, students call for change

Parents and students are demanding action from the Quebec government after more allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour at an all-girls school in the east end of Montreal.

A former teacher at Louise-Trichet High School in Tetraultville is facing allegations of sexual misconduct and grooming over a 20-year period.

The allegations were first reported by Le Devoir and have not all been independently verified by CTV News.

The Montreal school service centre says it investigated the teacher back in 2021 but says he resigned before the investigation was finished.

"Inappropriate actions and comments in our schools are unacceptable," reads a statement from the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM). "We encourage anyone to report them."

"In this case, there were never any criminal charges, however, an investigation recommended dismissal as a disciplinary measure. As soon as the process was initiated, the employee was placed on leave and resigned before we could proceed with his dismissal," a spokesperson added.

But a former student said the teacher's behaviour was an open secret.

"He would talk about the girls' bodies, saying that she had the perfect body. Like, he was describing the body of a girl that was 14 at the time, in front of the class, in front of her," she said.

She said she tried to alert the administration in 2018, but she says her complaints were ignored.

"So we had multiple meetings with my parents afterward, but none of them were taken seriously. I was just taken out of his class because I was a problematic student," she said.

Since the allegations became public, parents at Louise-Trichet say they no longer feel safe sending their daughters to the school.

"It's the banalization. They don't listen to the voices of the children and all they want to do is protect the teachers, and our request is to protect the children," François Regimbal said.

In March, the education ministry launched a general investigation into sexual violence in Quebec schools.

The school service centre says these allegations are part of that investigation, but advocates say what's needed is stricter laws.

"By not going forward, by creating a bill that would encompass all those sexual violences that are happening in schools every single day, we are putting ourselves in a position where we help all the perpatrators to keep going," said Mélanie Lemay, a spokesperson for La voix des jeunes compte.

Last month, Québec solidaire tabled a bill to prevent and combat sexual violence in schools that includes a protocol for reporting. So far, the bill does not have the support of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government, which said sexual violence falls under the purview of the newly created national student ombudsman.