New Education Minister Sonia LeBel must “pick up the pieces” left by Bernard Drainville: opposition

Quebec Treasury Board president Sonia Lebel speaks at a news conference over the negotiations with the common froth on strike, at the legislature in Quebec City, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville, left, looks on. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

New Education Minister Sonia LeBel must start her term on the right foot by “picking up the pieces” left by her predecessor Bernard Drainville, says Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.

The Quebec Solidaire (QS) education spokesperson called a news conference in front of the National Assembly on Friday.

He spoke about the $570 million in education cuts announced in June, followed by Drainville’s about-face, which saw $540 million reinvested while imposing a staffing cap.

In other words, school service centres that laid off employees in June as a result of the cuts are currently not allowed to rehire them.

Nadeau-Dubois was accompanied on Friday by Marie-Julie Lanthier, whose son, Samuel, has autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder, among other conditions.

This year, Samuel is in a regular class without services: no more special education technicians (SETs), no more speech therapists, no more social workers, said the QS MNA indignantly.

“What’s the point of putting money into theory if, in practice, we put a cap on staffing that prevents schools from hiring speech therapists, remedial teachers and TES?” he asked. “What I am asking Ms. LeBel to do is to suspend the absurd conditions that were added by Mr. Drainville when he supposedly reinvested in the system.”

The $540 million must be “unlocked,” a request that is unanimously supported by the system, according to him.

“When teachers and bosses in the education sector ask for the same thing, it’s often because they’re right,” he pointed out. “Ms. LeBel won’t get a second chance to make a good impression.”

Furthermore, the Gouin MNA said he expects LeBel to commit, from the very first days of her term, to not making any further cuts to education.

“Our children need a quality education,” he said. “I ask Ms. LeBel to stand up for public schools and tell her colleagues (...) that she will not accept further cuts.”

In his speech following Wednesday’s cabinet reshuffle, Premier François Legault said that each ministry will have to “clean up” its bureaucracy.

This does not bode well, according to Nadeau-Dubois.

“Very concerned,” he said on Friday, that he doubts education is still a priority for the premier.

The former QS parliamentary leader promises to keep close tabs on LeBel in the House when Parliament resumes on Sept. 30.

He has already announced that he will not run in the 2026 election.

“Education is my life’s work,” he said on Friday, adding that he wants to do “useful work” this year without overshadowing the current parliamentary leader, Ruba Ghazal.

He said he is “very aware” of his party’s dramatic drop in the polls, but wants to “give Ruba and her team every opportunity to lead the party into the next election.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 12, 2025.