FAE president tries to set record straight on negotiations, questions Legault's optimism

While a union representing 65,000 striking Quebec teachers says it was hoping to come to an agreement with the province before the new year, its president said Thursday that goal was becoming more difficult to achieve as the government has been adding demands when a deal feels close.

"I'm having trouble qualifying what he's trying to do. I'm not in his head," Fédération autonome de l'enseignement (FAE) president Mélanie Hubert said of Premier François Legault at a news conference held in Quebec City. 

The conference was organized in response to comments from the premier that students could be back in school Monday. Hubert said she wanted to set the record straight, calling Legault's comments overly "jovial" and unrealistic.

Negotiations went well Wednesday, Hubert said, noting the employers' representatives seemed open to the union's submissions. But she said the process was being slowed down by comments like Legault's, as well as added demands from the government that the union then had to run by a special committee. 

"It just puts more pressure on the teachers who are outside. They're angry. They're fed up. They feel like they're the butt of the joke," Hubert told reporters. 

She said she can't see how the parties could manage to solve everything within four days, including convening an FAE body which would judge whether an agreement in principle is valid, then recommend ending the strike. That agreement would then have to be voted on by members. 

Though things are getting closer, Hubert said, "There is not yet a text structured enough to say that we have reached this point."

Sonia LeBel, president of the Quebec Treasury Board, reacted to Hubert's comments before her news conference was over, releasing a statement on social media and to reporters. 

"I am convinced that we have an agreement within reach, but we cannot resolve it alone," LeBel wrote. "The government side is very proactive and wants to settle quickly."

Hubert followed up, saying, "It's true that the government has taken steps; we did, too. There have been some interesting proposals, but the roller coaster must stop."