{"id":23721,"date":"2023-01-17T22:29:33","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T02:29:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bambisafkar.ca\/?p=23721"},"modified":"2023-01-17T22:29:33","modified_gmt":"2023-01-18T02:29:33","slug":"supporting-academic-freedom-bravo-to-quebec-minister-of-higher-education-for-speaking-out-against-censorship-and-discrimination-in-the-universities-of-her-province","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bambisafkar.ca\/index.php\/2023\/01\/17\/supporting-academic-freedom-bravo-to-quebec-minister-of-higher-education-for-speaking-out-against-censorship-and-discrimination-in-the-universities-of-her-province\/","title":{"rendered":"Supporting Academic Freedom: Bravo to Qu\u00e9bec Minister of Higher Education for speaking out against censorship and discrimination in the universities of her province!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Bravo to Minister Pascale Dery for sending a letter to all the Presidents of Qu\u00e9bec universities reminding them of the value of academic freedom, denouncing censorship as well as the discriminatory practices of the so-called EDI<\/em> (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) in attributing Canada Research Chairs. Finally, someone standing up against this federally-imposed divisiveness! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below, you can find her tweet and her letter, all in the official language of Qu\u00e9bec. However, Bambi unofficially translated it for you below, with the help of her faithful friend, Mr. Google Translate<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, Ms. Dery’s tweet, which publicly shared her letter, reads as follows: “I sent a letter to the universities in order to position myself on the importance of academic freedom. Let’s work together for workplaces exempt of censorship<\/em>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ms. Dery’s beautiful letter to the Presidents of Qu\u00e9bec universities (French content) appears following Bambi’s unofficial English translation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cQu\u00e9bec,\nJanuary 16, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ladies and\ngentlemen, the leaders of the universities of Qu\u00e9bec<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With regard to recent events that have punctuated the news and fuelled the controversy that exists between the pursuit of objectives favouring diversity and inclusion in higher education and the protection of fundamental and universal values, such as freedom of education and research, a clarification is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s bill on academic freedom in universities provides institutions with all the necessary tools in order to ensure that these fundamental values \u200b\u200bare respected and even enriched. The purpose of this bill is to better support academic institutions in the framework of academic freedom and in promoting growth in future decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under no condition should we tolerate censorship in academic institutions. Censorship inhibits thinking and thinking in the grip of fear hinders the pursuit of excellence, which is at the heart of the university\u2019s mission. We cannot sacrifice academic freedom in the name of certain specific struggles, with the risk of losing both at the end of the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Academic freedom\nconstitutes the very foundation on which higher education was built and must\ncontinue to be so. It shapes our actions, thoughts, and our way of envisioning higher\neducation, not only for the benefit of the student and teaching community, but also\nfor the benefit of the Qu\u00e9bec society as a whole. It is inseparable from democratic\npluralism, which represents the backbone of our common institutions. This academic\nfreedom is not only a core value, but it is also a Qu\u00e9bec value of which we are\nproud. It is my duty to remind you of this and to ensure that it is respected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This being\nso, the pursuit of objectives aimed at diversity and inclusion within educational\ninstitutions is legitimate and necessary. This approach promotes equal opportunities\nbecause we all want educational environments that promote growth, both personally\nand academically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, under\nno circumstances should these objectives lead in any way to any form of discrimination\nor injustice. However, the requirements of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion<\/em>\n(EDI) of programs of Canada Research Chairs, which are set by the federal government,\nrather restrict certain rights and reduce the primacy of the notions of\ncompetence and excellence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following a\nmotion that I proposed to the National Assembly last December, Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s political\nclass, all parties combined, unanimously denounced these ways of doing things.\nI underlined that a greater representation of the target groups, underrepresented,\nmust always be carried out in a logic of equal competence. This way of doing\nthings is a the heart of the Qu\u00e9bec model, and this in all sectors of society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is in\nthis spirit that I have asked the Chief Scientist of Qu\u00e9bec to review his evaluation\ngrid in the allocation of research funds by the Fonds de recherche du Qu\u00e9bec,\nso that the EDI criteria are not imperatively predominant, but rather complementary.\nTo do otherwise would endanger excellence, the search of truth and academic\nfreedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is now up\nto you to achieve this goal. It is about the quality of teaching, research, and\nthe relevance of academia in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These\nexpectations are not only those of the government and mine, but they are also\nthose of Qu\u00e9bec society. Meeting these expectations is a delicate responsibility\nthat can require difficult trade-offs. This is why, dear leader of university institutions,\nyou can count on my full support in the pursuit of this objective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please\naccept my warmest regards,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pascale Dery\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bravo to Minister Pascale Dery for sending a letter to all the Presidents of Qu\u00e9bec universities reminding them of the value of academic freedom, denouncing censorship as well as the discriminatory practices of the so-called […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bambisafkar.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23721"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bambisafkar.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bambisafkar.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bambisafkar.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bambisafkar.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23721"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/bambisafkar.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23734,"href":"https:\/\/bambisafkar.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23721\/revisions\/23734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bambisafkar.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bambisafkar.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bambisafkar.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}