Quebec adds $540M to education budget after criticism over spending restrictions

The Quebec government is adding hundreds of millions of dollars to the education budget for the upcoming school year after coming under fire for announcing cuts that would have amounted to $570 million less in funding.

The sum of money announced on Wednesday amounts to $540 million. 

When announcing the budgetary restrictions last month, Education Minister Bernard Drainville said it was up to school service centres and school boards to respect the budgets they were given.

Since then, teachers, parents, unions, school staff and school boards have heavily criticized those budgetary restrictions, arguing that student success and services would be affected.

Across the province, there were protests and news conferences to draw attention to their concerns.

In a statement on Wednesday, Drainville said the government had listened to people's concerns and was taking action for students.

But the funding comes with conditions.

"All the money invested must be used for direct student services, not for anything else. Let's be clear: this is not an open bar," read Drainville's statement.

"Of the $540 million announced today, $425 million will be paid into a dedicated envelope. To qualify, each [service centre] will have to demonstrate that it has made efforts to reduce its administrative expenses."

He hopes that a spending review already underway will continue and lead to savings. 

Decision offers some comfort, but some are still cautious

Mélanie Laviolette, head of the Fédération des comités de parents du Québec, Quebec's parent committee federation, says the news brings a "certain relief."

But Laviolette remains wary. She hopes the money will be allocated entirely to student services — including field trips, summer courses, tutoring and professional support for students.

"It's going to require a certain amount of vigilance to ensure that these sums are well invested," she told Radio-Canada.

Liberal MNA Madwa-Nika Cadet welcomes the decision and says the citizen mobilization paid off. But she says she still has questions about how "in tune" Drainville is with the school network. 

"We've known ever since the budget was announced last March that the sums allocated were insufficient to meet the rising costs of the system. So how is it that now, in the last month, the minister has turned on the lights?" she asked.

"We're not opening a bottle of champagne today because, for me, a minister who needs such a mobilization of citizens to reverse a decision that was obvious from the start ... it raises certain questions." 

Parti Québécois MNA Pascal Bérubé, sponsored a petition launched on the National Assembly website to oppose these budget cuts. It gathered over 157,000 signatures. 

He says while this update is "good," it is important to not "take any chances." 

"Let's keep signing this petition so that it reaches a record level this fall. There is no confirmation yet that all the measures taken in the school service centres will be cancelled," said Bérubé.