The PQ MP for Matane-Matapédia, Pascal Bérubé, who is a teacher, wanted this framework to be implemented in time for the next school year.

The motion he presented in the Blue Room called on the National Assembly to consider the harmful effects of cell phones on student concentration and motivation.

She pointed out that other jurisdictions have taken restrictive measures on the use of cell phones in schools and observed positive effects on student socialization.

These measures also help reduce bullying on social media, the motion said.

Frame instead of’forbid

The text was presented jointly with the Liberal MNA for Saint-Laurent, Marwah Rizqy, the Solidarity MNA for Mercier, Ruba Ghazal, and the independent MNA for Vaudreuil, Marie-Claude Nichols.

To gain this support, the PQ had to drop the verb forbid to replace it frame.

Nonetheless, the government resisted the submission of the motion by its Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mathieu Lévesque, who rose and declared: no agreement.

Teachers support the ban

Last month, 92% of the 7,000 teachers polled by the Federation of Teachers’ Unions (FSE) said they support a ban on cell phones in the classroom, except for certain educational activities.

The President of IT FJosée Scalabrini said that Quebec newspaper that teachers wanted to reduce distractions in class and that they were increasingly afraid of being unknowingly filmed by students.

It’s a struggle, she said. There were years when the argument was the hat in class or the chewing gum in the mouth, now it’s the cell phone.

Education Minister Bernard Drainville has hinted at this in the past open to thought to a general ban.

In 2021, during the Consultation on Young People’s Health and Screen Use, several experts recalled the harmful effects of screens on vision, sleep and weight.

But the screens are also good, they said. In schools, they would in particular allow for a variation in teaching approaches.