In a public letter sent to the president of the University of Alberta, the French-speaking Historical Society of Alberta (SHFA) deplores “the cumulative decisions taken at the Saint-Jean campus which threaten its integrity as a place of memory for [la] community [francophone] ».
The Shfa deplores, among other things, the recent decision to cover a mural that represents the French -speaking student community of Alberta. This wall, which is located in the entrance to the McMahon pavilion, was inaugurated in 1997 for the reopening of the pavilion, which is currently in full renovation.
The wall, which is now covered with sheets, illustrated Past and present reality
From the institution, indicates a book on the 20th anniversary of the Saint-Jean campus.
The president of the ShfaClaudette Roy, says she does not understand the reasons that prompted the university to cover the mural.
Contacted by Radio-Canada, the University of Alberta had not followed up on the requests for an interview when the article is published.
In the letter of the Shfawe can read that The wall will be definitively obscured on the pretext that it is “not part of the new vision of the campus”
.
The things that are in [la murale]it can be applied to the elders of 50 years ago as much as to the elders of 10 years ago. In our opinion, there is nothing in this wall which is offensive
comments Claudette Roy.
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The president of the SHFA, Claudette Roy, shows a page of a book on which we can see the mural.
-Photo : Radio-Canada / Charles Delisle
The drop that overflows
The concealment of the mural at the Saint-Jean campus is the drop that overflows
said Claudette Roy, who also mentions the closure of the Historical Salle Onésime Dorval in 2023.
In the letter, the Shfa deplore the lack of consultation on the part of the university: the changes have been made Without public consultation, without transparency, without concerted plan and without any evidence of a serious commitment to policies or principles that your institution has committed to respect
.
Claudette Roy admits that he was contacted by the dean of the Saint-Jean campus, Jason Carey, before the work begins, but in no case she seemed to be able to give her opinion.
We don’t have many places of memory. We don’t have a museum. […] Many of our history is in that of the Saint-Jean campus.
We are worried about the cumulative decisions taken at the Saint-Jean campus which threaten its integrity as a place of memory for our community and compromise the commitments of the University of Alberta with regard to inclusive excellence, cultural integrity and collaborative community engagement.
Requests to the president of the University of Alberta, Bill Flanagan
The French -speaking Historical Society of Alberta has four requests for the university:
- suspend any removal of works and cultural objects at the Saint-Jean campus;
- Recognize the campus as a historical place of cultural importance for Francophones in Alberta;
- Make an independent examination of the recent decisions of the processes which led to the removal of heritage elements;
- establish a formal partnership between the university and Shfa
In 2023, the University of Alberta had apologized for installing a sign of the establishment which was unilingual in English at the entrance to the Saint-Jean campus. Since then, the panel has been in French.
During the same year, the institution ended the light ceremony, an opportunity for the graduates to pass the torch to the next cohorts of students. The tradition dates back to 1995. The event is now integrated into the grades snack ceremony which is organized by the University of Alberta.
