The five major parties are out campaigning as the Quebec election approaches. Voters are set to go to the polls on Oct. 5. The leaders Follow along for the latest updates: Milliard on the Morning Show Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard speaks with Andrew Carter on the Morning Show at CJAD 800. Day 5: This is where the parties are expected to start their day, in order of first appearance: Calls to review education system Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) Leader Christine Fréchette says she is reluctant to initiate a review and reform of the current education system. During a public meeting in Longueuil, on Montreal’s South Shore, on Sunday, she responded to a question from an attendee who called for a major education summit to address serious issues in the school system. “Is that the best solution? I’m not so sure,” Fréchette replied to Cherif Milky, an educational consultant who works in a school. The CAQ leader pointed out that she participated in the last forum in 1995 and was not convinced by the results. “It took a lot of energy for a result that didn’t live up to the effort put in,” she said. Milky lamented a “discrepancy between the ministry’s guidelines and what’s happening on the ground” in many areas, including “teaching practices, assessment practices and the development of social skills.” He argued much is left up to the schools to decide. “We see no leadership from the Ministry of Education (...), the guidelines aren’t being followed” in schools, “things are heading in the wrong direction,” he said. A teacher by training, French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge also questioned the usefulness of the consultation process. “I’m not opposed to it, but I don’t see any urgency in holding a national forum,” he said during a press scrum after the event. Parents, teachers and students are calling for more support, greater decentralization and stable budgets—but not a national forum, he insisted. “A forum would be a process of reflection, but where would it lead us? We don’t know.” Last week, the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) union and other education organizations called for a new summit. The Liberal Party (PLQ), for its part, has pledged to organize a national forum on education if it forms the next government. - The Canadian Press.
