Academic freedom: Quebec Higher Education Minister under fire from opposition

Quebec Minister for higher Education Pascale Dery responds to the Opposition during question period at the National Assembly. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

Quebec’s Minister for Higher Education, Pascale Déry, came under fire from the opposition parties on Wednesday after admitting she interfered with the content of a course at Dawson College.

“This issue is very worrying. First of all, it’s a Minister of Higher Education who is going to interfere in the content of a private course. And it’s all the more worrying because it’s the result of interventions by an organisation of which she herself was previously a member of the board of directors,” said Parti Québécois MNA Pascal Paradis at a news briefing on Wednesday.

An article in Le Devoir published on Wednesday showed that the Centre for Israeli-Jewish Affairs (CIJA) — of which Déry was a board member from 2016 to 2022 — played a role in triggering investigations at Dawson and Vanier colleges.

Déry initiated the investigations in December in the wake of demonstrations on campus linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

On Tuesday, Déry admitted that she had intervened in the content of a French course at Dawson College that dealt with “Palestinian identity.”

“I did intervene in the content of a course for one simple reason: the context was really explosive. (...) So all I asked, to avoid adding fuel to the fire because the climate was already difficult on these campuses, was: is it possible to have a subject that is less sensitive given that it’s a French course?” she said.

Motion against interference

On Wednesday, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government blocked a Québec Solidaire motion calling on “the National Assembly to denounce any political interference in the content of courses in the Quebec college network.”

“I can’t believe that the CAQ is breaking the consensus on academic freedom in this way. Politics must not interfere in course content and the independence of teaching must be preserved, that should be self-evident. The CAQ’s about-face is very worrying, and Minister Déry needs to explain why she thinks it’s OK for politicians to interfere in CEGEP courses,” said QS MNA Sol Zanetti.

“I’ve always thought that the Coalition avenir Québec is a party that supports academic freedom. That’s what surprised us about Minister Déry’s actions. We believe in the concept of academic freedom,” said Liberal MNA André Fortin.

When questioned on the subject by journalists on Wednesday, Déry would not elaborate, saying that the CEGEP investigation was still underway.

Minister Jean-François Roberge came to his colleague’s defence on X, saying: “We don’t want to import international conflicts here in Quebec. CEGEPs must remain places where people live together and integrate. My colleague Pascale Déry is right to be concerned and to ask for answers.”

In an investigation by La Presse published last week, teachers at Dawson and Vanier colleges denounced what they considered to be interference by the Ministry of Higher Education in their institution.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French Feb. 19, 2025.