Quebec to hold États généraux on education in early 2027

Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has given new Education Minister Joël Arseneau the job of holding États généraux, a broad public review of the province’s schools, starting early in 2027.

The premier named Arseneau to the portfolio on Wednesday, when the Parti Québécois cabinet was sworn in, and said the task is “colossal,” according to La Presse Canadienne. “We have therefore reached the point where school, obviously, must be rethought,” St-Pierre Plamondon said (translated from French).

He said Arseneau will have to find commissioners and follow the discussions, making sure the exercise is balanced and takes students and parents into account, not only interest groups. The premier listed dropout prevention, the value placed on vocational training, violence in schools and social mixing in schools among the topics of interest.

The Centrale des syndicats du Québec, the largest union in education, has pushed for such a review for two years. On Wednesday it held a news conference at its “En action pour l’éducation” gathering in Quebec City, which drew about 350 people. The union said 70 signatories backed a declaration calling for the États généraux, among them representatives of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, the Conseil du patronat du Québec and the Fédération québécoise des directions d’établissement d’enseignement.

CSQ president Éric Gingras said his union did not want a single weekend of reflection. He said it wants a process spread over several months that brings together the people involved and arrives at consensus from early childhood through higher education. “Everything must be put on the table,” Gingras said, naming the three-tier school system, artificial intelligence, pupils who do not eat in the morning, missing learning supports and predictable funding (translated from French).

Arseneau, the member for Îles-de-la-Madeleine since 2018, has taught at the college level in Quebec and at the secondary level abroad, Radio-Canada reported on Saturday. School administrators and unions interviewed by the broadcaster welcomed his appointment. André Bernier, president of the Association québécoise du personnel de direction des écoles, called him proactive and on top of his files. Mélanie Hubert, president of the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement, said the union would judge the minister by results but found his calm and determination encouraging (translated from French).

Arseneau told Radio-Canada’s RDI this week that the timing is right for a large-scale review. “We are not installing changes over the span of one political cycle,” he said, adding that the government will take the time needed to set a direction for public schools (translated from French). The premier has also asked him to prepare a major meeting for parents and students, according to Radio-Canada.

Hubert listed violence, aging buildings, a three-tier school system, cheap teacher training and budget cuts among the problems facing public schools. Kathleen Legault, president of the Association montréalaise des directions d’établissement scolaire, said Montreal’s public schools need decision-makers in Quebec City to recognize the effects of the three-tier system and to open a real dialogue on attracting and keeping staff.

The review is one of the first files for the new government. See our earlier reports on the swearing-in of the Parti Québécois cabinet and on the party’s first 100 days agenda.

Sources: La Presse Canadienne, via Noovo; Radio-Canada.

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