Hundreds of “blue squares” were distributed at midday on Wednesday at the Sainte-Foy CEGEP to denounce the budgetary restrictions imposed on the college network, during a mobilization which could gain momentum in the coming weeks.
Representatives of professors, employees and students gathered to launch this mobilization, inviting their members to pin a small blue felt square on their clothes or backpacks, as a form of protest.
“We hope that it will be small,” says Édith Pouliot, president of the Union of Professors of the Cégep de Sainte-Foy.
Other CEGEP teachers in the Montreal region have already indicated that they will follow suit, indicates Youri Blanchet, president of the Federation of College Education.
Impacts in class
The budgetary restrictions imposed by Quebec in the middle of summer will have impacts even in the classroom, deplores Mme Pouliot.
Literature teachers cannot teach new works this year, since there is no money to buy books, while the acquisition of healthy laboratory equipment, such as fake arms to practice holds of blood, remains uncertain, indicates Édith Pouliot.
“It’s serious, we really need it for classes to take place,” she explains.
The CEGEP management confirms, in writing, that the purchase of new books at the library is frozen and that the operation of certain laboratories “could be compromised due to a lack of equipment.”
The president of the student association, Élise Lefebvre, also denounces the impacts of these restrictions on training. “We have a direct impact on the skills we can acquire,” she laments.
Reduction of more than 50%
In the middle of summer, the Legault government imposed a cap on investment spending in the college network, which puts the brakes on several renovation projects, but also on the purchase of equipment.
At the Cégep de Sainte-Foy, authorized expenses for the current year have been reduced by more than 50%.
The new threshold set has almost already been reached, since several expenses were incurred at the time of the government announcement, explains Ms. Pouliot, who denounces the “way of doing things” of the Legault government, which places the CEGEP in an “absurd” situation.
Work to repair a parking lot was carried out this summer, before the announcement of budgetary restrictions, while the CEGEP is now wondering if it will be able to purchase the educational materials necessary for its laboratories.
“The way of doing things is quite odious. The rug is being pulled out from under us, we would have made different choices if we had known that before,” she says.
Furthermore, if equipment breaks down during the year, it will now be necessary to obtain authorization from Quebec before being able to replace them, which could lead to long delays, employees fear.
For its part, the management of the Cégep de Sainte-Foy indicated, in a written statement, that it “understands and supports” the concerns expressed by its community, since “these measures have a direct impact” on students and employees. .
