Schools in poor condition: the PQ is concerned for the health of children

ARCHIVAL PHOTO, QMI AGENCY
More than one primary school is in a poor or very poor condition in Quebec.

Patrick Bellerose

Thursday, 29 march 2018 11:59

UPDATE
Thursday, 29 march 2018 11:59

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The Parti québécois requires a balance of public health to determine if the dilapidated schools of the province puts in danger the health of students.

According to the budgetary documents released on Tuesday, only 45% of primary schools and 53 % of secondary schools are now considered in good condition or in a condition deemed satisfactory.

“From the moment the observation is made that it is in a very bad state in these schools, there should be a balance of public health to ensure that our children are not in institutions where the mold is present, where we’re going to make our children sick,” says the spokesman of the parti québecois in the field of elementary and secondary education, Carole Poirier.

Mold

In his own riding of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, three schools had to be closed, the schools Baril, Hochelaga and Saint-nom-De-Jesus. “These are children that we had to move. And they were moved to a secondary school where there we re-identified a new situation,” she says.

The department of public health has determined that the students and teachers in these schools have had health problems related to mold, ” said Carole Poirier. It is thus necessary to “document” the situation in the other regions of Quebec, she says.

Deficit of maintenance

Since last year, the deficit of maintenance of assets of schools in Quebec has jumped from 1.8 to $ 3.3 billion. The “natural deterioration” of the buildings, explains some of the deterioration of the situation, but also the increase of inspections that found the need to do the work of $ 800 million that had not yet been listed.

The minister of Education ensures that the government is the “most that we can now put” to renovate the school buildings. “It is true we have a real estate school that has some challenges, I have always said, recognizes Sébastien Proulx. There are schools who lack love in Quebec.”

Currently, $ 1 billion has been allocated to school boards for the renovation work, but the amount has not yet been spent. The budget of 2018 provides a further 575 million $ over five years. With these investments, the minister Proulx hopes to be able to “reverse the trend to dismiss these schools outdated”.