The format of a My Take is 150 words – no more, no less – to express an opinion on a different topic each week. This week’s topic was Bill 32
Quebec’s ministry of irony is at it again, this time presenting a bill that will require Universities to enforce a specific definition of “academic freedom.”
Bill 32, if passed, will require universities in the province to create policies ensuring that teaching, research, and community activities can take place “without doctrinal, ideological or moral constraint.” It specifically denounces the use of content warnings for sensitive or offensive material.
Schools that opt not to adopt such a policy, or who produce one that is deemed insufficient, will have a ministry-assigned representative do so for them, at their expense.
As other recent events have pointed out, “freedom” can be a very loaded term, and sure, our doctrines, ideologies, and morals should all be subject to criticism and review, but mandating a systemic body for disregarding the concerns of traumatized students doesn’t seem like the way to do it.
