Côte des Neiges

CDN school sees teachers investigated for bullying

Local Journalism Initiative / The Suburban / December 24, 2024 / Bedford Elementary School, Bernard Drainville, Côte des Neiges, Dan Laxer

By Dan Laxer
The Suburban

A Montreal school finds itself in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Eleven teachers from Bedford Elementary School are under investigation after reports surfaced of psychological and physical abuse. At a news conference responding to the allegations, Education Minister Bernard Drainville enumerated some of the incidents that his ministry will be looking into.

“Refusing to recognize that autism exists, refusing to teach sexual education or science, having a student lose consciousness and instead of helping, you start praying?”

Other allegations include bullying, physical and psychological abuse, yelling, pushing, intimidation, and other forms of discipline that would seem to be of an older era, and not acceptable today.

The French public school in Côte des Neiges falls under the purview of the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM). Most of the students come from the area’s cultural communities.

Drainville said that the interests and needs of the students must always take precedence. The reports show that Bedford School is not living up to that expectation. The ministry is sending two representatives to the school charged with re-establishing an environment conducive to the students’ needs and safety.

Aside from the 11 teachers at Bedford, the Education Ministry is looking into three other schools within the CSSDM: Bienville, Saint-Pascal-Baylong, and La Voie High School.

Drainville confirmed that these kinds of allegations go back to the 2016-17 school year. He said in an interview that it is incomprehensible that concerns had not been raised before. n

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Snowdon social housing project approved for Barclay

Local Journalism Initiative / The Suburban / November 27, 2024 / Côte des Neiges, housing co-operative, Joel Ceausu, Office municipal d’habitation

By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban

A new housing project will be built on the site of a Côte des Neiges property that was demolished in 2021.

All residents of the housing co-operative at 4741-4751 Barclay were evacuated from the building in 2019 which was in such poor condition with mold and structural issues that it was condemned. CDN-NDG council last week approved a plan to build a three-storey building with 31 social housing units just east of Victoria.

The property belongs to the Société d’Habitation du Québec which mandated Montreal’s Office municipal d’habitation (OMHM) and the organization Groupe CDH to put the project in place. Former tenants of 4741 Barclay will have priority access to the new units and will all be contacted by the OMHM about six months before construction is completed, currently forecast for the end of 2026. The building will feature eight one-bedroom units, 14 two-bedrooms, and nine three-bedroom apartments.

Darlington councillor Stephanie Valenzuela was very pleased to see the item on the borrow agenda. “It’s good that it’s going to be 31 units of social housing, especially for the previous residents who now have a chance to return to the neighbourhood.”

In the old building, residents had complained about mould since 2012, Valenzuela told The Suburban, “and in 2019, they were evacuated due to structural issues. The story of this building should serve as a lesson to us all—when tenants raise concerns about conditions, we must take them seriously to avoid the tragic outcome of people being uprooted from their homes for years.”

Borough Mayor Gracia Kasoki Katahwa saluted the borough services, “as well as good collaboration with the OMHM… This is great news for a sector that is particularly affected by the housing crisis. Once these units are built, it will be the responsibility of OMHM to relocate the residents of the old destroyed building.” n

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