Canadian art teacher accused of using ‘sweatshop of children’ after selling students’ work online

Alyssa Guzman Published Feb. 14, 2024, 8:59 p.m. ET

A Montreal art teacher has been sued by parents after allegedly using a so-called “sweatshop of children” to produce artwork that he then placed online for sale.
Mario Perron, a teacher at Westwood Junior High School, has allegedly been selling his students’ artwork on his own personal website without their permission for more than $100 a pop.
“This guy basically had his own little, you know, sweatshop of children,” father Joel DeBellefeuille told the Washington Post. “It’s insane. I’m still in disbelief.”
Perron was allegedly caught red-handed after students were looking up his name online and found at least four websites that appeared to show the students’ work being sold on t-shirts, mugs, and more, according to CTV News.
“I’m extremely disgusted with this person,” father Michael Bennett told the local outlet. “It’s unbelievable.”
Parents have served the school board and Perron with legal paperwork Tuesday alleging the teacher listed at least 3,000 pieces of artwork “without the consent of their creators, in bad faith, and in violation of all laws related to the intellectual property of an artist,” according to the Washington Post.
DeBellefeuille initiated the legal action after his son Jax, 13, came home from school last week and showed him the website.
The legal notice seeks $350,000 CAD, or roughly $260,000 USD, for copyright and for emotional damages, as the work bears the students’ names and could “easily” allow identification.
The parents drew fire toward the portraits being for sale as it could cause “significant moral harm and could be used, in the future, to hurt or bully” the children “psychologically.”
Parents have also called for Perron to be suspended and for the artwork to be taken down.
Parents are also wondering if Perron ordered the students to complete certain assignments – like the Jean-Michel Basquiat project they were told not to plagiarize – just so the teacher had something to sell.
“Is he asking for these types of portraits to be done so it meets the market?” Bennett questioned to CTV News. “I’m not quite sure on that aspect. However, I am not impressed at all with this person. I’m not impressed with the school, or the school board.”
The school board said they were “aware of the situation and is taking these allegations very seriously,” a spokesperson told The Post Wednesday.
The school board declined to comment further due to the investigation.