The “tense climate” at Dawson and Vanier colleges forces Quebec to open an investigation

The Minister of Higher Education of Quebec, Pascale Déry, is launching an administrative investigation to determine whether Dawson and Vanier CEGEPs have done what is necessary to secure their respective campuses, in a tense context due to the war in the Middle East.

Ms. Déry claims to have received, in recent months, a accumulation of reports and denunciations concerning incidents and alleged acts of intimidation.

In these English-speaking establishments in Montreal, these tensions particularly oppose members of the Jewish and Muslim communities.

These two communities are predominant on these campuses and have difficulty cohabitingexplained the Minister of Higher Education on Tuesday in an interview with All one morning on ICI Première. Students said they felt discomfort and even insecurity.

These tensions pushed the minister to launch an administrative investigation to verify whether the two establishments have taken all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological safety of students.

Encouragement to demonstrate

Students say fear for their safety on the Dawson and Vanier campuses. Some say they are victims of bullying on a regular basis. Others want change CEGEP next Januarydescribed Minister Déry, whose ministry received all kinds of denunciations.

The minister cites the example of professors who would have encouraged their students to go and demonstrate and who would have canceled classes to allow them to do so.

Pascale Déry cites another example where a professor took the initiative to give a lesson on the history of Palestine, even though he was teaching mathematics.

In this context, she intends bring a certain calm to these environments.

We must ensure that the right of students to evolve in a healthy and safe environment applies; it is non-negotiable.

On the social network X, Tuesday, Minister Déry maintained that the climate on some campuses seems to have deteriorated in recent months.

Everyone agrees that there is a certain climate that is very tense. We know that the conflict in the Middle East is very emotional.

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In November, a student movement in support of Palestine led to strikes in many educational establishments.

The management of Dawson College canceled all classes on November 21, citing numerous emails and calls from community members expressing concerns about the safety of students and employees on the day of the strike.

Dawson teachers union denies allegations

In a reaction sent to -, the Dawson College Teaching Staff Union invokes academic freedom et promoting freedom of expression in a democratic society and states that the examples mentioned by Minister Déry concerning certain teachers are inaccurate.

The teaching staff at Dawson College carry out their work competently, and in accordance with ministerial and departmental requirements; any insinuation to the contrary proves to be false and misplaced.

The union concludes by saying that Minister Déry is seeking to divert attention from [ses] draconian budget cuts.

Protecting Jewish and non-Jewish students

On X, Tuesday, the Advisory Center for Jewish and Israeli Relations (CIJA) and Federation CJA say happy with the decision of Minister Déry to open an investigation. They say wait for administrations [des collèges] a most productive collaboration with the latter’s team.

We hope the investigation will shed light on the worrying hate behavior over the past 14 months and lead to an effective approach to resolving the ongoing crisis.the two organizations said.

They further demand strong measures to protect Jewish and non-Jewish students from extremists who seek to impose their hateful ideologies through intimidation, harassment and violence.

With information from Benoît Chapdelaine

With information from The Canadian Press