On April 6, 2022, Danielle McCann, Quebec’s Minister of Higher Education, introduced Bill 32 on academic freedom in the university environment, which aims to recognize, promote, and preserve academic freedom while also putting a stop to censorship in academia. It asserts that university teachers should be permitted to use any words they deem essential inside the classroom, as long as they are employed in an academic context and fulfill ethical and scientific guidelines. This bill refers to the proposals made by the Independent Scientific and Technical Commission on the acknowledgment of academic freedom in the university setting, as well as including some of its own viewpoints.
"The question of academic freedom is fundamental," McCann said in a statement. "In the last few years, several troubling events brought our attention to this subject and one thing is clear: censorship has no place in our classrooms."
If the bill is enacted, universities will have one year to create, adopt, and implement their new policies. They must also choose someone to oversee the aforementioned procedure. If schools do not take enough action to make those changes, the law gives the minister the authority to force schools to strengthen their academic freedom policies.
The Independent Scientific and Technical Commission was formed in response to one of the suggestions regarding academic freedom expressed in the study L'Université québécoise du futur, as well as other situations that questioned this freedom. A recent example of such incidents was when Verushka Lieutenant-Duval, a part-time lecturer at the University of Ottawa, was suspended in September 2020 for using the N-word in a class discussion about art and gender. She eventually apologized, but her colleagues, who were lobbying for her reinstatement, said that prohibiting the use of the term would limit their capacity to teach literature by Québécois writers who use it.
The bill, needless to say, ignited a heated controversy. Over 30 student organizations from around Quebec issued a joint statement calling the measure an "assault" on educational institutions. The head of the Concordia University Black Student Union, Amaria Philips, is one of many who criticized the new bill. "I think it's a slap in the face for students," said Amaria Phillips. She is concerned that the law would traumatize BIPOC youth, citing recent incidents of lecturers using racist insults during lectures. Additionally, she has remarked that BIPOC students are concerned about the bill's effects. They don't feel comfortable with non-Black professors using the N-word, especially when they're in a predominantly white university or class. Phillips wishes that the emphasis in university lectures moves away from the slur and towards Black history. "A lot of [teachers] they're not even really teaching what it means to say the N-word and the impact that it has had in the past and it has in the present, they're just saying it for the thrill of it," she stated. She professes to have heard cases of lecturers using the phrase without the intention of educating.
Discussions on the bill continue. The Leader of the Official Opposition has requested extra discussions before the bill's principle acceptance. As a result, it is probable that the measure will be revised before it is passed.
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Published May 22, 2022
Written by Skye Cabrera ~ Edited by Sasha Thomas ~ Graphics created by Samridhi Verma
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