CAQ budgetary constraints threaten sports and leisure in Montreal

As part of the budgetary efforts required by the Legault government, the Ministry of Education has abolished the compensation paid to school service centers for making their facilities available for municipal recreational purposes. A decision which provokes the anger of elected officials of the City of Montreal, who urge Quebec to reverse its decision.

This new measure has been in place since December 13, 2024, for an indefinite period.

The mayor of Pierrefonds-Roxboro, Dimitrios Jim Beis, did not hide his indignation. Just before Christmas, the Lester-B.-Pearson school board, which serves several boroughs and towns in western Montreal, announced that it would close its sports facilities on weekends starting January 1, 2025, due to lack of funding.

In the Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough alone, more than 800 citizens would have been affected by this closure, which also deprives the non-profit organizations organizing the activities of $45,000 in revenue.

Where will citizens go to let off steam, train and expend their energy?

A last minute discussion between the school service centers and the City made it possible to avoid the worst, but only until the end of January. For the moment, school service centers are refusing to confirm to the City of Montreal whether they will make their facilities available for day camps during spring break.

Mayor Valérie Plante is concerned about major impacts that this cut in services could have on the citizens of Montreal.

The mayor of the LaSalle borough, Nancy Blanchet, points out that municipal facilities are not enough to accommodate all of the organizations’ activities. It is partly for this reason that Quebec signed, in 2018, the Agreement governing the sharing of school and municipal facilities and equipment between the City of Montreal and school boards, called the “Entente Réflexe Montréal”.

This framework agreement makes it possible to optimize the use of school infrastructure by making them available for evening and weekend activities. The Ministry of Education then reimburses the net losses suffered by the school service centers for the use of their establishments. Furthermore, the City of Montreal shares certain infrastructures, such as libraries, free of charge.

For the Ministry of Education, these changes do not mark the end of sharing infrastructure between the City of Montreal and educational organizations. On the contrary, he says he is in favor of it. However, he recalls that Quebec has asked its ministries and agencies to respect the budgetary envelopes for the 2024-2025 financial year.

Each school organization contributes to the budgetary effort according to its choices of school organization and the specific needs of its environment. THE CSS can continue the agreement without benefiting from an allowanceindicates the Ministry of Education in an email.