11 Montreal elementary school teachers suspended after toxic behaviour allegations

The largest school service centre in the province has suspended 11 teachers who have allegedly fostered a toxic climate in a Montreal elementary school.

Bedford elementary school, which is located in Montreal's west-central Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood, is the subject of a 90-page government report. According to that report from the Education Ministry, those 11 teachers have spent years working as a "dominant clan" and spreading fear within the school while intimidating students and staff.

The report mentions that these teachers punished students with learning disabilities simply because they didn't recognize those disabilities as legitimate. They're also alleged to have prevented support staff from entering classrooms and worked together to undermine school management decisions. 

The Centre de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM), which oversees more than 111,000 students across 186 schools, issued a statement Saturday evening saying it had asked the elementary school to proceed with the suspension of the 11 teachers.

"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 statement reads. 

In the statement, the CSSDM says the suspensions were made possible by the fact that its executive director, Isabelle Gélinas, now knows the names of the teachers at the heart of the allegations, having received that information Thursday from investigation committees that were mandated by the province.

"Equipped with this new information, the CSSDM can now proceed with the suspensions," the statement reads.

Gélinas and the school service centre have faced heavy scrutiny in recent weeks.

Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy, who is also the party's education critic, says Gélinas has been too slow to address the issues within the school. Rizqy pointed out that the Education Ministry's 90-page report was not the first one that outlined those teachers' alleged behaviours

She's accused Gélinas of "willful blindness" and has called for her to step down.

Gélinas began her tenure in February 2022.

The CSSDM says it has a plan to make up for the absence of the 11 suspended teachers.

"The substitute teachers, who have already been appointed, will have the necessary support to make sure the students' learning goes ahead normally," the CSSDM wrote in its statement.

It also said resource staff will be present in the school to support students academically and psychologically.