Sharing of school gymnasiums | Indignant municipalities to pay 9 million cuts

Quebec will save 9.1 million by ceasing to reimburse the costs of schools that open their sports facilities to citizens outside class hours, a decision that mainly affects the island of Montreal and Laval, but also cities of the Metropolitan suburbs and Eastern cantons.

Municipal elected officials denounced this “deconnected decision of reality”, which “takes citizens in hostages”, during a press conference on Thursday in Verdun.

For example, certain activities offered by the Pierrefonds-Roxboro arrondissement in the schools in its sector could be canceled at the end of January, said the district mayor, Jim Beis.

“If you have to pay the rental of school gymnasiums, it could go up to $ 700,000, which is impossible for us. A young person who pays $ 50 to register for basketball during the winter may have to pay four times more, “he said. “These schools have been paid by taxpayers, they belong to citizens. They should be able to use them outside class hours ”,

Pierrefonds-Roxboro had agreements with two school boards on the sharing of school facilities. The Marguerite-Bourgeoys school service center has agreed to maintain access to its schools until May, but the Lester B. Pearson school board decided to end municipal activities at the end of January, since its budget does not allow it Not to assume the expenses linked to the opening of its installations on the weekend, reports Mr. Beis.

The mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, as well as the president of the Union of Municipalities of Quebec, Martin Damphousse, and the mayor of Verdun, Marie-Andrée Mauger, and Lasalle, Nancy Blanchet, also asked the Ministry of Education from Quebec (MEQ) to return to his decision, during the press conference.

It is up to the municipalities to pay, said the minister

Eleven school service centers in Quebec, out of 72, asked for a reimbursement at the ministry for their costs related to the opening of their premises in the evening and the weekend, so that all citizens have access to it. In addition to the five centers located on the island of Montreal, it is the CSS of Laval, the CSS des Affluents, in Repentigny, the CSS des Patriotes, in St-Bruno, the CSS des Grandes-Seigneuries, at La Prairie, From the CSS of the Summits, to Magog, and the CSS des Hauts-Cantons, to East Angus.

This measure cost 9.1 million per year at the MEQ.

“The vast majority of CSS in Quebec have agreements with the municipalities of their territory without the government compensating them monetaryly. It is believed that the few affected CSSs can do it in turn, “said the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, on X and Facebook networks. “We also call municipalities to chat with their CSS in order to achieve an agreement as it is done elsewhere. »»

Since the City of Montreal denounced this decision on Monday in municipal council, the MEQ had not specified what the regions were affected and what was at stake. The news therefore caused panic among the amateur sports federations, which feared That their followers from all over Quebec must pay much more for their activities.

Read access to school sports facilities: compromise amateur sport

Faced with the prospect of having to assume the invoice, the municipal elected officials denounce the accumulation of new expenses imposed on them by the Quebec government.

Valérie Plante has given the example of homelessness, where insufficient investments by the Ministry of Health and Social Services oblige cities to develop services.

But above all, it argued that, since 2020, municipalities have to pay millions of dollars to provide land for future schools. “It was the Montrealers who paid the land with their taxes, and then they would be asked to pay for access to the gymnasium of this school?” It makes no sense, ”said the mayor.

Municipalities and districts do not intend to prevent students from using municipal equipment during class hours, such as arenas, libraries or sports fields. “But by passing on us a new invoice, it is the municipalities that will have the odious to tell the citizens that they must pay additional costs,” deplored Martin Damphousse.

In Lasalle, municipal employees are looking for places to relocate certain activities, explained the mayor of the district, Nancy Blanchet. “But it’s complicated to discuss prices for each use, it’s long to renegotiate everything,” she said. The government’s political discourse advocates optimization and budgetary rigor, but the new situation will require that cities and centers of school service are bound by mutually, which takes more time and more employees. »»

“We will do everything to provide these services,” said Valérie Plante. But it is our responsibility to denounce this irresponsible decision of the government which takes families and cities hostage, telling us that we must assume the invoice. »»