2025-2026 back-to-school period – The government broke the social contract in education

 On the eve of the 2025-2026 back-to-school period, the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) and its school network federations want to point out the context of instability in which the students will be welcome in the coming days.

“The back-to-school period is the moment of all possibilities! The energy of the first school days has a special effervescence. Once again, all personnel – teachers, school support staff and professionals – will be ready to ensure everything goes smoothly. But at what cost? It’s the question on everybody’s lips. It’s impossible to start this school year without talking about the major impacts that the funding instability creates,” argues CSQ president Éric Gingras.

United in a common press conference, CSQ president Éric Gingras and the other school network presidents, Richard Bergevin of the Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement (FSE-CSQ), Éric Pronovost of the Fédération du personnel de soutien scolaire (FPSS-CSQ) and Carolane Desmarais of the Fédération du personnel professionnel de l’éducation du Québec (FPPE-CSQ), are unanimous that the saga of the 570 million dollars in budget cuts announced last June, despite their reinvestment during the summer, put the school network back in a cynical slump.

“The catastrophic cuts scenario is put aside for now, but it doesn’t change the fact that the network needs predictability. Yes, the government invested in education, but not at the level needed in light of the increase of young people in our schools and centres, and of the needs related to students in difficulty. If education really was a priority, these various factors would be taken into account and it’s not the case,” adds Éric Gingras, who regrets that the Minister of Education isn’t defending the school network.

“The government broke the social contract in education. Not all students are equal right now, and not all of them, by the Minister of Education’s own admission, have access to the services they are entitled to.”

Unionism in education is here to stay

“Since the beginning of 2025, the government is looking for a target and is bashing the unions: the number of strikes and conflicts, Québec’s financial rating downgrade, the economical and social instability, the negative statements on the governments’ policies and orientations. It’s always the unions’ fault. Enough is enough, insists CSQ president Éric Gingras. We are not responsible for the government’s bad political choices!”

“Unionism in education is here to stay and I’ll even add that it might be more important than ever. And heads up! What’s coming isn’t a union battle. It’s a fight led by workers already on the ground every day. By parents too, we’re hoping. Governments and ministers change, but the personnel stays. And it’s for them that we’re speaking out in the public space and that we will continue to denounce what has to be.”

Change in education requires a great reflection

The CSQ and its federations believe that, to repair the social contract in education, there needs to be a great collective reflection involving all education stakeholders, a demand repeated by the CSQ for many months.

Last January, the CSQ published the results of a Léger survey [in French] that revealed, among other things, that close to 70% of Quebecers feel that a great collective reflection needs to happen to develop a clear vision and long-term plan for the network.

The basis of the challenges that are shaking the education network lie in the foundation and mission of education itself. “We know that the population backs the education personnel, it’s more the lack of support, the structures and the infrastructures that are the issue. And the political choices of the government only widen the breach of trust. And at the CSQ, that’s what we want to work on. And offer solutions that come from the community. Besides, it’s what the members want: suggest, contribute, act,” maintain the union leaders.

“That’s the great collective reflection we’re asking for. We want to talk about youth academic success, equality of chances, school and social diversity. We want to talk about education, for real. We want a plan, a collective project, structuring and inspiring for the Québec of tomorrow.”

Worries for students’ success

“We wish teachers a good school year, but we already know it will be demanding, because they’ll live with the ever-present threat of unjustifiable cuts. Furthermore, the shortage situation will increase pressure on teachers who will have to support and help people starting in the profession with insufficient training. The government will need to support its teachers and stop attacking them with constraints and new obligations that overload and devalue them.” – Richard Bergevin, president of the Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement (FSE-CSQ).

 Elimination of essential positions and instability for school support staff

 “The 2025 back-to-school period is starting in a climate of uncertainty and anger for the school support staff. While students return to their school, many direct services intended for them are weakened by the elimination of essential positions, despite the recent partial budget’s correction. On the administrative side, a hiring freeze is paralyzing an already undermined network. In the context of a glaring labour shortage, the government chooses to make the situation worse instead of better. Many of our members, essential to the smooth running of the network, come out of a summer filled with anxiety, many having spent their holidays fearing for their job, and they’re kept into instability until the end of August. Stop the cuts in education.” – Éric Pronovost, president of the Fédération du personnel de soutien scolaire (FPSS-CSQ).

 Jeopardized well-being and learning conditions

“At a time when the school network was already in difficulty, when the personnel and students’ distress was already palpable, the government chose to cut in a host of services, including professional services, and then to partially reinvest under conditions that are impossible to achieve. Too little too late, we worry that the chaos has settled for good. School service centres will need to exercise caution given the funding instability and, despite what the Minister says, the community will suffer from professional services cuts. This political mess will directly affect students’ well-being and learning conditions in our schools. Nevertheless, the professional personnel’s expertise is more essential than ever to maintain a quality public school network. We won’t stay idle when faced with these cuts that are denounced by every stakeholder in our society.” – Carolane Desmarais, president of the Fédération du personnel professionnel de l’éducation du Québec (FPPE-CSQ).