A student walks off the bus at the Bancroft Elementary School in Montreal, on Aug. 31, 2020. Bus driver shortages are causing disruption across Quebec. The Capitale School Service Centre in Quebec City said 1,600 students have been without transportation since Feb. 16 because of a continuing labour dispute.Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
Labour disputes and a lack of school bus drivers in Quebec are disrupting transportation throughout the province, compelling parents to find alternatives and some kids to miss class.
Bus drivers’ unions and employers say that low pay and tough working conditions are adding to widespread labour shortages, which means the job is not attractive enough to meet the province’s needs – causing more and more disruptions across Quebec. Both are asking for more resources from the provincial government to raise wages.
The Globe and Mail contacted nearly all of the province’s school boards and service centres – the equivalent of a school board in the French system – to inquire about transportation issues. Precise numbers of students affected are difficult to obtain, and several boards and centres did not reply by deadline because of spring break – but many said the challenge is widespread.
While some institutions experienced no trouble, others said they are facing challenges in regions from the Montérégie, in the province’s south, to the remote Côte-Nord, where alternatives like public transit are scarce.
Caroline Vallée, VP for the Public Sector at the Bus Carriers Federation (FTA in French), which represents the employers of school bus drivers in Quebec, said around 1,500 routes were cancelled at least once throughout the province during the 2021-2022 school year. This was significantly more than previous years, and the situation is getting worse, she said in an interview.
The Samares School Service Centre, which oversees 53 elementary schools and 10 high schools in the Lanaudière region, north of Montreal, said that around 1,200 students have been affected by transportation failures every month this school year.
“On average 35 pupils per day for all sectors have had absences related to transport,” spokesperson Maude Jutras wrote in an e-mail.
In Sainte-Julienne, Kim Bénard’s 7-year-old son missed two-and-a -half weeks of school this semester before a neighbour offered to get him to class and back every day. Ms. Bénard does not drive, and her partner’s variable work schedule prevents him from driving the child. She said bus service has been cancelled more often than not since the family moved to the community in December.
Ms. Jutras said the service centre put in place measures to mitigate the issue, including more flexible hours for parents to pick up their children, but this was no help to Ms. Bénard. She complained to the Ministry of Education, who referred her back to the service centre.
“Even if accessible school transportation for all is an undisputed desire of the Ministry … it is not a right guaranteed by the Education Act. School transportation remains a privilege,” a ministry employee wrote in an e-mail to Ms. Bénard reviewed by The Globe.
Quebec’s Education Act provides that “a school service centre may … provide transportation for all or part of its students,” and if it does, the service must be free of charge.
The Capitale School Service Centre in Quebec City said 1,600 students have been without transportation since Feb. 16 because of a continuing labour dispute. Spokesperson Manon Jomphe wrote in an e-mail that the service centre does not know how many pupils have missed school for this reason.
Bus drivers in Sept-Îles also announced they would strike on March 15 after failed negotiations with their employer. A spokesperson for the Fer School Service Centre, Mireille Lejeune, wrote in an e-mail that 1,600 pupils at their schools and others in the region would be affected by the work stoppage.
“We don’t have alternative solutions” for parents, she wrote, but they encourage carpooling.
Josée Dubé, President of the School Transportation Sector of the Federation of Public Service Employees, a large union, said in an interview that “tons of strike votes are upcoming, and if there are no substantial raises on the table, there will be other strikes.”
Ms. Dubé said school bus drivers are often paid close to minimum wage for a job where the schedule – a little over 20 hours per week divided into two shifts per day, and no work in the summer – means it’s even harder to make ends meet.
She said annual bonuses improved last year and are about $2,400 per driver. But Ms. Dubé said they were still not high enough to be an incentive and called on Quebec’s Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, to get involved and force carriers to raise drivers’ wages.
After several contracts expired last summer, the Quebec government announced last August an agreement with the FTA ensuring that “school transportation must be provided from the start of the school year, regardless of where you are.”
The agreement addressed various issues affecting the industry, including inflation and labour shortages, the Ministry of Education said at the time.
But the higher costs of fuel, parts and new electric buses – which cost more upfront than traditional buses and are set to make up 65 per cent of the total number in Quebec by 2030 – mean carriers are not able to raise drivers’ wages under the current contracts, Ms. Vallée said.
Ministry of Education spokesperson Esther Chouinard said in an e-mail that service centres and boards are responsible for school transportation and questions should be directed at them.
In a statement, Mr. Drainville’s office said he “wants the school transportation situation to resolve quickly” and asked for the parties involved to be flexible for the sake of parents and kids.