Western Quebec School Board closes schools, daycares for the day

The English-language Western Quebec School Board hasclosed more than a dozenschools,daycare centres and continuing education centresfor the day due to "safety reasons,"part of a wider series of closures across the province.

In a series of tweets sent just before 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, the board said the following schools,daycaresand centresare closed:

• EardleyElementary School.
• Buckingham Elementary School.
• South Hull Elementary School.
• Symmes Junior High.
• D'Arcy McGee High School.
• Wakefield Elementary School.
• Pierre Elliott TrudeauElementary School.
• Greater Gatineau Elementary School.
• Chelsea Elementary School.
• Lord Aylmer Elementary School.
• Philemon Wright High School.
• Hadley Junior High School.
• Hull Adult Education Centre.
• Western Quebec Career Centre.

"We had to close the schools due to an emergency situation and to ensure the safety and security of all students and personnel," said Paul Lamoureux, the board's director general.

More schools in other parts of the province were alsoclosed for threatening emailsreferring to Quebec's ongoing teacher strikes and the quality of education in public schools.

Quebec Public Security Minister Pierre Moreau saidthe e-mail includes threats to place bombs in schools and on school buses and city buses used by students in Quebec and Ontario.

Just before 11 a.m., MRC desCollinespolice tweeted that several schools under the French-languageCommissionScolairedesPortages-de-l'Outaouaisare also being searchedwithout giving specifics.

A French-language note to Portages-de-l'Outaouais parents from the board obtained by Radio-Canada says they received a threatening message but there's no indication that it's a realthreat.

MRC des Collines police tweeted around 11:45 a.m. that they had searched 10 buildings in Chelsea, La Pche and the Pontiac and hadn't found any suspicious packages, so they have ended their operation.

Gatineau police say all schools in their area are secure as well.

The French-languageDraveurs et des Hauts-Bois-de-l'Outaouaisschool boards say they have not received any threats.

Schools atthe Western Quebecboard are alsoset to be closed on Wednesday for labour action by school support staff.