11 Montreal teachers suspended with pay over allegations they mistreated students

Oct 21, 2024 | 10:36 AM

MONTREAL — Eleven Montreal teachers who were suspended for allegedly creating a climate of fear and intimidation inside a primary school are being paid pending the outcome of disciplinary hearings.

Their union says it hasn’t yet filed any grievances to challenge the suspensions, adding that it doesn’t have all the information for each case against the 11 teachers at Bedford school in the city’s multicultural Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood.

Quebec’s largest school service centre announced the suspensions on Saturday night, after a government investigation found a “dominant clan” of teachers imposed strict, autocratic rule over students and intimidated colleagues who opposed them.

The investigation revealed that the teachers were allegedly influenced by the local mosque and subjected children to physical and psychological violence, and refused to teach or paid little attention to subjects such as science and sex education.