11 Montreal elementary school teachers suspended after toxic behaviour allegations

Montreal School Suspends 11 Teachers for Allegedly Creating Toxic Climate

The largest school service centre in Quebec has suspended 11 teachers accused of fostering a toxic environment at Bedford Elementary School in Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood.

A 90-page report from the provincial Education Ministry outlines allegations that the teachers formed a “dominant clan,” spreading fear among students and staff. The report claims they punished students with learning disabilities, dismissing the legitimacy of those disabilities, blocked support staff from entering classrooms, and actively undermined school management decisions.

The Centre de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM), responsible for over 111,000 students across 186 schools, announced the suspensions on Saturday. The school was instructed to proceed with the action immediately.

“This unprecedented move aims to restore, as quickly as possible, a healthy and safe environment for the students of Bedford and for the entire education community,” the CSSDM’s statement reads.

The CSSDM clarified that the suspensions were possible now because its executive director, Isabelle Gélinas, received the names of the implicated teachers from provincial investigation committees last Thursday.

“With this new information, the CSSDM can now proceed with the suspensions,” the statement continues.

Criticism of Leadership

Gélinas and the school service centre have come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks. Marwah Rizqy, a Liberal MNA and education critic, criticized Gélinas for acting too slowly, noting that the Education Ministry's report is not the first to document the teachers’ misconduct.

Rizqy accused Gélinas of “willful blindness” and called for her resignation. In an interview with Radio-Canada on Sunday, Rizqy rejected the claim that Gélinas only recently learned the names of the teachers.

“They already had the names,” Rizqy said. “No one in Quebec will, for a second, believe that the employer did not know the names of the employees.”

The Education Ministry’s report confirmed that several staff members had raised concerns about the toxic environment at Bedford Elementary on multiple occasions.

“Our analysis shows that those complaints weren’t necessarily treated as formal complaints, and often they were not followed up on by the school service centre,” the report states.

Gélinas has been executive director of the CSSDM since February 2022.

Impact on Students

The CSSDM said it has a plan to manage the absence of the 11 suspended teachers.

“The substitute teachers, who have already been appointed, will receive the necessary support to ensure students’ learning continues as usual,” the CSSDM stated.

Additional resource staff will also be available to provide both academic and psychological support to students.

The suspensions, which begin Monday, will remain in effect until the investigation committees complete their work. According to the CSSDM, the committees will assess whether the teachers "committed a serious fault in the exercise of the teacher's functions or an act derogatory to the honour or dignity of the teaching profession." Such findings could result in the revocation of their teaching licences under Quebec’s Education Act.

Government Response

Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville acknowledged the CSSDM’s decision in a message posted on X.

“On our end, we’ll continue to act with the tools at our disposal,” Drainville wrote, adding that the investigation remains ongoing.

Two government employees have been assigned to monitor the situation at Bedford Elementary and are expected to submit an action plan by the end of November.

Despite recent criticism, Drainville reaffirmed his trust in Gélinas earlier this week.

Other Schools Under Investigation

The Education Ministry is also monitoring three additional schools within the CSSDM for similar issues related to toxic environments. These include Saint-Pascal-Baylon Elementary School and La Voie High School, both located in Côte-des-Neiges, and Bienville Elementary School in the Saint-Michel neighborhood.