Religious indoctrination allegations at east-end Montreal school are unfounded: service centre

An investigation into a potential case of religious indoctrination at a school in Montreal's Saint-Léonard borough has found that the allegations were groundless.

Alphonse-Pesant elementary school is part of the Pointe-de-l'Île school service centre (CSSPI), which covers eastern Montreal.

The CSSPI launched an investigation into Alphonse-Pesant after private radio station 98.5 FM reported that a Muslim couple pulled their 11-year-old son out of the school because they believed he was being indoctrinated by his Grade 6 teacher.

Valérie Biron, director of corporate services at the CSSPI, said in an email on Thursday that the school's interim general director informed parents and school staff of the findings on Nov. 1.

"The facts were rigorously verified and we can attest that the allegations were not confirmed," Biron said. "The teachers concerned as well as management have our full confidence and support."

"Moreover, several people we met mentioned their appreciation of their teaching. No separation of girls/boys was imposed," she noted.

Education Minister Bernard Drainville confirmed to CBC News on Thursday that any complaints were "not founded." 

In an interview with 98.5 FM featured in a radio column last month, the Muslim couple described an encounter on Sept. 11 during which their son's teacher spoke to them in Arabic and expressed her desire to share Islamic values with Muslim children in the classroom.

"I don't like teaching Quebecers," the couple recalled the teacher saying. "That's because I can't share my Islamic values with them."

Their account was corroborated by other parents.

The CSSPI investigation was also announced days after the highly publicized suspension of 11 teachers from Bedford elementary school in Côte-des-Neiges due to alleged toxic behaviour.

The radio station — whose extensive coverage on Bedford sparked the government's investigation — reported that the teacher at Alphonse-Pesant elementary separated students according to gender, whether in the classroom or while they were lining up.

The news report includes testimony from a parent who says a teacher used Buddhist imagery and gestures to restore order in the classroom. That incident allegedly took place two school years ago.

In a 90-page government report on Bedford, investigators described two opposing groups among staff at the school, both made up of people of different origins. Investigators wrote that they mainly observed "an opposition of ideologies," which contributed to a toxic climate.

Quebec's Education Ministry is now monitoring 17 schools for potential violations of the province's secularism law.