Nunavik parents petition to prevent teachers’ strike

Worried parents in Nunavik have launched a petition in an attempt to stop the 17-day teacher strike set to run May 13 to May 30.

“I saw [the students’] expressions, they felt so discouraged,” said Jennifer La Page, a Kuujjuaq parent who launched the petition which had more than 300 signatures as of Friday afternoon.

La Page said she understands why the strike is happening, but that’s beside the point.

“The fact that the students are being used as a bargaining chip was an issue to me,” she said.

The strike is scheduled to coincide with province-wide exams for both secondary four and five students (known as grades 11 and 12 outside Quebec).

La Page’s daughter is a secondary five student, on the brink of graduation. She said she’s noticed her daughter is putting in a tremendous effort in keeping on top of her studies and raising money for her graduation trip.

“[My daughter] along with other students were saying, ‘If I don’t graduate, I give up,’” she said.

“As a parent, I want her and the students to not be discouraged and carry on with their education.”

More than half — 56 per cent — of union members voted in favour of the strike, according to the Association of Employees of Northern Quebec, which represents the approximately 450 teachers and support workers who have been without a collective agreement since May 2023.

Throughout the 30 months of negotiations between the Kativik Ilisarniliriniq school board and union, little information about the process has trickled down to the parents.

“I feel as a parent, we are being left in the dark,” La Page said, adding she had to do research on her own to fully understand what the situation was before starting the petition.

Pitakallak is one of two schools in Kuujjuaq where a teachers’ union picket line will be placed on May 13. (Photo by Cedric Gallant)

“They should fully inform parents in regards to what kind of actions they intend to take,” she said. “Having school meetings would be a great initiative to keep us all informed and updated.”

The situation is unacceptable, said Annie Popert, former Kativik Ilisarniliriniq director-general and grandmother to two graduating students.

“Kids pay attention, even if they don’t always understand,” she said in a phone interview. “When they see something like this happening, it will stay in their minds.”

This impacts the trust they have in the school system, Popert said.

Both of her grandchildren have plans for post-secondary education, yet the strike puts a question mark on their path forward.

“We are telling our kids how important [education] is, and to have that pulled from under their feet makes it a sham,” Popert said.

Kativik Ilisarniliriniq and the union were in negotiations until late Thursday evening, to no avail. Union president Larry Imbeault said the school board has been inflexible.

One of the major issues is mandated criminal record checks for school board employees.

Kativik Ilisarniliriniq is proposing employees have 10 days to respond to requests for criminal record checks, and if it is not done it is a breach of contract. The union disagrees with that policy because of its lack of adaptability to working conditions.

An employee who does not regularly check their email, for example, could lose their job due to that deadline, Imbeault said in a French interview.

“We would not have the possibility to intervene because the contract break would be done already,” he said.

Harriet Keleutak, director-general of Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, disputed this characterization of the school board’s proposal Thursday during a news conference in Kuujjuaq.

“We would give 10 days, but that does not mean automatic dismissal of employees,” she said.

“If they have a clean file, I don’t see why they would be reluctant to sign a paper to state that it is OK for us to check.”

Keleutak said the school board is working “day and night” to make sure the two parties reach an agreement before the May 13 strike date.

When asked if the students’ graduation and exam period would be impacted by the strike, she said, “We have prepared our school administrations to ensure that students will not be the ones paying for the strike.”

For example, the graduation date for secondary five students could be changed, she said.

The union and school board are meeting Friday before Quebec’s Labor Tribunal in Montreal to hear a complaint the union placed in March alleging Kativik Ilisarniliriniq was negotiating in bad faith.

The school board also filed a complaint, arguing next week’s planned strike is illegal.

The tribunal declared Friday that the strike is not illegal, said Imbeault.

No new negotiation meetings have been scheduled as of midday Friday.