Misconduct complaints process in Quebec schools is deeply flawed: report

Article content

QUEBEC — Education Minister Bernard Drainville is promising swift action after a report commissioned by his department found the complaints process against school employees accused of sexual misconduct has numerous shortcomings.

“I was surprised by the extent of the shortcomings, hence the sense of urgency,” Drainville said Friday during a news conference to respond to the report.

Article content

To speed things up, Drainville said he’s considering adding amendments to Bill 23, which will soon be under consideration in the National Assembly.

Drainville had commissioned the investigation following numerous allegations of sexual misconduct in schools. The work was done this summer, and the report was submitted in August and made public on Friday.

The 100-page report raises several problems in the management of the files, in particular a lack of communication between the various employers, a lack of coherence in the supervision of the teachers and limited training among interveners.

The authors suggest improving the transmission of information from one employer to another to detect problematic employees when hiring. They also recommend to better follow up on criminal records, since it’s currently the employee’s responsibility to keep the employer informed if their situation changes.

“It’s nonsense that a teacher, and more broadly, a service centre employee, can commit acts of a sexual nature or violent gestures and move from one service centre to another without consequence,” Drainville said.

He also expressed concern that some sanctions imposed on staff are erased from their files after a period of time. According to the report, a teacher who has received a written warning has it removed from their file after five months.

The report also recommends considering eliminating amnesty in cases of sexual misconduct and violence.

Drainville promised to have discussions with the unions so that the file “is not an obstacle to the protection of children.”

The report also suggests better informing the victim and the whistleblowers of the progress of the complaints, because there’s often no follow up.

Several media had exposed disturbing cases in schools in recent months.

Quebec to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct in school system

Quebec creates tip line to report violence, sexual assault in schools