CPE

Daycare workers move toward an unlimited strike

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , ,

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – The approximately 300 educators at CSN-affiliated early childhood centres in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine gathered for a general assembly on March 19 to vote on a strike mandate that could lead to an unlimited general strike. 

Educators from 12 daycare centres in the region staged their fourth and fifth strike days on March 18 and 19, following a mandate issued last fall. “The educators will discuss the steps needed following the government’s blockage regarding the renewal of the collective agreement and the improvement of working conditions,” says Serge Saint-Pierre, President of the CSN Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine Central Council. 

“We see that at the bargaining table, even though there have been discussions, nothing justifies a return to work. The workers’ minimum demands have not been met,” added the union leader. The results of this mandate will be announced nationally as soon as possible. 

The workers are demanding, in particular, a lighter workload; better compensation to ensure attraction and retention; regional disparity bonuses for employees in certain remote regions; measures to improve the quality of childcare, including clearly defined and respected ratios between the number of educators and children, as well as better support for children with special needs. “Our first three days of strike action weren’t enough to make the government see reason. The region’s childcare workers are therefore going to raise their voices with a new strike mandate. Every time we take action, we make progress at the bargaining table. We continue to make our voices heard for the future of childcare centres,” says Katie Leblanc, Vice-President of the Baie à Maria Childcare Workers’ Union. 

The workers had issued strong strike mandates last October and November in the region.  According to the CSN, the average salary for a childcare worker is $29 per hour.  In addition to the strikes of March 18 and 19, previous strikes took place in January and February 

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Lack of daycare spots remain a problem 

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , ,

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

CARLETON-SUR-MER – The availability of daycare spaces in the Gaspé Peninsula remains a major issue, with two key challenges persisting. 

The Gaspé Peninsula Prefects Table recently had its annual meeting with the Ministerial Committee. Recommendations from the meeting will be given to the Minister of Families. 

“Two major concerns emerged. The first is that there have been several announcements in recent years. The challenge is getting these projects off the ground and getting construction underway, and the other is the lack of spots in the Avignon MRC, which has not received any new spots in the latest calls for projects,” notes the chair of the table, Mathieu Lapointe. 

According to the Quebec government, the region is expected to reach near balance in daycare spots by 2027.  “They always base their decisions on the demographic projections of the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ), and that’s where I have a major problem. We’ve always proven the statistics wrong. We’re always performing better than the ISQ forecasts. The ISQ predicts a population decrease, when in reality, it’s an increase,” says the president. 

The committee serves, in particular, to provide qualitative information on economic and residential development projects, information that the ministry doesn’t have.  “They look at the needs in the 0-5 space, and we, with the committee, are there to inform them about issues in the territory,” says Mr. Lapointe. 

Determining the exact number of daycare spaces currently needed in the Gaspé remains difficult.  Similar committees exist in every region of Quebec. “What will happen to the recommendations we made? We’ll find out in the coming months,” he says. The other major challenge is the lack of educators to fill available positions. 

“The workforce challenge is significant. We see that at the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles, there have been no recent enrollments. It’s a big challenge,” Mr. Lapointe agrees. 

The ministry reports a 96% daycare coverage rate across Quebec.  “We would like to have this figure for the region, but we think we’re a little below the Quebec average,” the president concludes. 

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Gaspé approves 84-unit housing project

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – Les Habitations de la montagne’s 86-unit affordable housing project has received final approval from the Gaspé municipal council, allowing the project to move forward. 

The approval was given during a special council meeting on February 24. “The last stumbling block in the file was a resident of the sector who opposed the project. There were discussions between him and the developers to mitigate the impacts of the project,” said Mayor Daniel Côté. 

The units will be located near the MAPAQ (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food ) offices in the Sandy Beach sector of Gaspé. 

Modifications were made to address concerns, including traffic management during construction with a fenced-off area and reduced visual impacts. 

The developer has until 2029 to complete construction. While not speaking on behalf of the developers, the mayor estimates that the units could be ready by late 2027, with construction set to begin in 2026. 

“According to the latest available statistics, we went from a vacancy rate of 0% to 1%. It’s still a good improvement, but we’re still far from the equilibrium threshold. That’s why we’re continuing to invest in housing,” says Mr. Côté. 

Over the past five years, 533 residential units have been built in Gaspé. “The shortage is getting less and less severe. At one time, we never saw any housing listed. Now, there are some. It’s a sign that we’re on a positive trend in the housing shortage,” believes the mayor, who is maintaining the pace to bring in construction. 

The elected official also highlighted Gaspé’s population growth, with 490 new residents added in the past year. 

“In my humble opinion, the growth is far from over.” As long as we can build housing, I think there will be people to occupy them and contribute to our development,” continued the mayor. 

With new residents comes an increase demand for daycare spaces. 

The project for 100 new spaces at the Voyage de mon enfance Centre petit enfance (CPE) is also taking a step forward as the Town has agreed to sell part of the land it owns near Carrefour Gaspé. 

However, the project for the 144 units that was supposed to be built on the adjoining land will not see the light of day, according to the mayor. 

“The project was aborted because of the elements already mentioned. There are legal proceedings in the file. I won’t go too far in my remarks. The project has not been working for some time. We want to take back the land to do something else, whether it be housing or something else,” said the mayor. In February 2024, the Town threatened to use its termination clause, granting it the right to take back the land, since the deadlines had become too long for the project to be completed. A warning was applied in September. 

Logements CVP had purchased the municipal land in September 2021 for $300,000, though it was valued at $566,000 at the time, with plans to develop Le Domaine de la Baie. 

The investors had also deposited a $266,000 security deposit, repayable in four installments each time a complex was built. 

The project included four buildings of 36 units each, with one to be constructed per year until 2026. CVP had committed to breaking ground by December 31, 2023. 

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CPE workers strike again

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – Approximately 300 educators in Gaspé Peninsula and Magdalen Islands, affiliated with the CSN, striked again on February 6 to activate the renewal of the collective labour agreement that expired on March 31, 2023. 

Parents whose children attend one of the 12 Early Childhood Centres (CPEs) once again needed to make alternative arrangements. 

This marks the second day of strike action out of five adopted last fall. “Unfortunately, the discussions have not progressed enough for the strike movement across Quebec to be put on hold,” commented Serge Saint-Pierre, President of the CSN’s Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine Central Council. 

“We’re a little fed up with the government’s refusal to respond to our demands,” continued Mr. Saint-Pierre. 

The workers are pushing for a lighter workload, higher pay to improve attraction and retention, regional disparity bonuses for employees in certain remote regions, and measures to improve the quality of services for children, including clearly defined and respected ratios between the number of educators and children, as well as better support for children with special needs. 

The other unions representing educators have settled with the Quebec government. “The demands between the other unions and the government and the CSN and the government are completely different. We’re asking for even more. I remind you that the ultimate goal of our demands is to retain and attract workers in the province’s early childhood centres. We consider our demands to be essential elements in attracting and retaining workers in CPEs,” explains Mr. Saint-Pierre. 

The next step has not yet been determined. “It will always be about what happens at the negotiating table. If after Thursday’s strike, things get moving, we will see if it satisfies the negotiating committee. The committee has a mandate to demand certain things. If the committee judges that it is not enough to stop the mobilization or to delay it or put it on hold, the committee may decide whether or not to continue the strike,” specifies Mr. Saint-Pierre. 

It is too early to discuss the possibility of an indefinite general strike. 

In total 13,000 educators across Quebec, affiliated with the CSN will be participating in the strike. 

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Strike by CSN-affiliated daycare educators 

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , , , ,

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – On January 23, at least 150 of the 300 daycare educators in the Gaspé Peninsula and Magdalen Islands, affiliated with the CSN union, demonstrated in the streets of Gaspé, to activate the renewal of the collective labour agreement, which expired on March 31, 2023. 

As a result, parents who have children attending one of the 12 early childhood centres (CPE) in the region had to find alternative childcare for the day. 

This is the first day of strike action out of five adopted last fall. “It’s satisfying to see so many educators mobilized. This proves to us that almost all early childhood educators need better working conditions, better support for children in difficulty, and better pedagogical support. They need better working conditions in general,” states the president of the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine Central Council of the CSN, Serge Saint-Pierre. 

CPEs are struggling to recruit workers, as is the case for the new 71-place facility in Chandler, which is only operating at 25% of its capacity due to the inability to recruit enough staff. 

“We see that in large centres, educators are leaving to go work at places like Walmart or Costco, where they are paid more and the workload is much less,” explains Mr. Saint-Pierre. 

“If we want economic development, if we want regional development, one of the problems we see is the lack of places in early childhood. The government can resolve this issue and make it a priority. That’s what it said it would do a few years ago. We’re still waiting for the results,” says Mr. Saint-Pierre. 

The educators also visited the office of Gaspé Member of the National Assembly Stéphane Sainte-Croix to present their demands. 

“We need early childhood centres. The network isn’t sick, but we’re having trouble retaining workers and attracting them to fill vacant positions. It’s having an impact on the region’s economy to accommodate the children of parents looking for work. Workers aren’t returning to the workforce because there aren’t any daycare spaces,” explained Mr. Saint-Pierre. 

At the negotiating table, some sector-specific issues have been resolved, but no salary offers have been made by the employer. 

Meanwhile, other CPE workers’ unions have settled with the Quebec government. “It’s a matter for the negotiating committee. Why did Quebec settle with the small CPE unions and not make a final offer with the CSN? We have the impression that they want to drag out the negotiations,” believes Gaétan Leblanc, regional vice-president of the CSN’s Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux. 

The union still has four more strike days that can be used as needed. 

The workers are demanding a lighter workload, better pay to ensure attraction and retention, regional disparity bonuses for employees in certain remote regions and measures to improve the quality of services to children. These include clear and respected ratios between the number of educators and children, as well as better support for children with special needs. 

In Quebec, 13,000 educators affiliated with the CSN were on strike on January 23. 

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Early Childhood Education course will once again be offered at Gaspé Cegep

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – Suspended since 2020, the Early Childhood Education course will return to the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles’ Gaspé campus in the fall of 2025. 

To attract candidates to the program at a time when there is a significant shortage of educators, the college is introducing paid internships and employment integration measures, including part-time work in Gaspé’s two Centres de la petite enfance (CPE), which have collaborated to upgrade the program. 

“We were inspired by CEGEPs which implemented this new paid internship formula. We went a step further and told the CPEs, ‘Could we integrate them right away with a part-time job?’ and they responded positively. So there’s the paid internship and access to employment,” explains Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles Director of Studies Serge Rochon. 

“There’s a desperate need (for early childhood workers),” says Mr. Rochon. Students who take this program are trained to work in childcare centres, as well as, school daycare services. 

A vast advertising campaign will be launched not only in the region, but also throughout the province and even internationally. 

While consulting with students during group meetings, they showed an interest in such a program. “We think there are people who might be interested in studying in Gaspé. For Quebec students, the Parcours bursary, which helps students move from one region to another, can offer a three-year bursary of $22,500 for students located more than 60 kilometres from Gaspé,” points out Mr. Rochon. This could even attract students from the Bay of Chaleur. 

Ultimately, with scholarships and paid work and internships, the cost of students in Gaspé could be mostly covered. 

There is a possibility that the CEGEP could relocate the training if the need arises. “But the teaching team wanted to keep the program in-house, since it was simpler to organize the courses. Could the program be relocated to other campuses? These are issues that are on our work table,” says Rochon. 

“Educational childcare services are in great need of qualified personnel. We’re delighted to partner with the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles to help create a unique program that will stand out and attract young people to the profession,” says Mylène Côté, director of CPE Les Butineurs. 

Her counterpart at the CPE Le voyage de mon enfance, Gilles Chapados, adds: “The new formula proposed by the CEGEP will enable future educational childcare providers to quickly put their learning into practice, while being remunerated. It’s a win-win situation.” 

To relaunch the program, the CEGEP must receive at least seven registrations by March 1, 2025, the admissions deadline. Classes would begin in the fall of 2025. 

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