PQ wants cell phones banned from recess at schools

The Parti Québécois (PQ) wants cell phones banned from breaks and recess in elementary and high schools.

They were banned in Quebec public school classrooms since the winter, but the PQ believes that a further step is needed to limit young people’s screen time.

According to PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the principle that should guide the government in this is “the need to get screens out of school as much as possible.”

The PQ believes it’s essential to take cell phones out of primary and secondary schools, including during breaks, as has been done in France since 2018.

“Quebec schools need to set an example for our young people. Our young people need to feel like reconnecting with non-virtual interactions when they’re at school, and that obviously includes during breaks and recess,” the PQ leader stressed in a press release on Tuesday morning.

The government directive banning cell phones prohibits them in primary and secondary school classrooms, except for specific purposes at the request of the teacher.

The PQ believes, however, that more needs to be done. It argues that “failing to grasp the urgency of action is a mistake” and maintains that the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) government is “dragging its feet on this issue.”

Digital majority

The PQ is also still calling for a study on the possibility of imposing a digital majority, which could make it that people of a certain age can’t join a social network.

They cited the example of France, where young people under the age of 15 require parental authorization to sign up for a social network.

“The idea of creating a digital age of majority at 14 or 15 to access social networks must be studied in Quebec,” argued the PQ leader, who proposes setting up a parliamentary commission to look into the issue between now and the start of the next school year.

Last week, St-Pierre Plamondon questioned Premier François Legault directly on the subject in the National Assembly, and Legault brushed off the idea.

“Well, did I just hear the leader of the PQ tell us, ‘We should ban social media for children under 14?’ Is that what he just said? Did I hear that right? Is that his suggestion?” said Legault.

In the past, the premier has also called on parents to limit their children’s screen time.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews