Zainab Al-Mehdar
Pontiac Aug 24, 2022
On August 10, the Western Quebec School Board (WQSB) sent a letter out to schools and parents warning them that come September, families with school-aged kids may have to find alternative transportation as there may not be available bus services running.
Since negotiations have been underway before the transport contract expired in June 2022, they have not come to an agreement and transportation for the Outaouais has been a contentious issue.
Since last week Mike Dubeau, Director General of the WQSB, highlighted that the situation is still underway and as of this week they are still having conversations with one of the biggest transporters in Quebec, Transport Scolaire Sogesco Inc, to come to an agreement.
Monetary issues are holding up the negotiations. Despite the revised and improved offer from the Quebec Government, the school transporters consider that the amounts offered are not sufficient to compensate for their increase in operational costs.
Normally contract negotiations would have been reviewed and done way before a contract expired but this year there were extraordinary circumstances, said Dubeau. Some of the challenges involve the government wanting all transporters to go electric, the price of fuel, the lack of bus drivers and inflation to name a few, he said.
It might also be misleading for some parents as recent headlines in prominent news websites and papers have said that transporters have come to an agreement. Dubeau explained that that statement is only half accurate and that just because the federation agreed doesn’t mean that individual transporters will agree to the terms, which is a major part of the issue.
“I’m optimistic that we’re going to get there. But right now, we’re working hard to make that happen, but there are a lot of things out of our control in terms of finances. But certainly, our voice is being heard and the ministry knows where we’re at,” said Dubeau.
As of Monday, Dubeau highlighted that the board is meeting with the Ministry of Education, they are having conversations with transporters and the anglophone DG and working around the clock to come to the best possible solution.
But he concluded, “It’s not a done deal by any means.”
