Discussions of the effects of Bill 32: Opinion

In a recent article for The Conversation, University of Winnipeg Professor Peter Ives and York University Professor Eve Haque discuss the impacts of Québec’s Bill 32. The authors explain that Bill 32 defines university academic freedom as “the right of every person to engage freely and without doctrinal, ideological or moral constraint in an activity through which the person contributes, in their field of activity, to carrying out the mission of an educational institution.” Ives and Haque argue that the bill undermines university and faculty autonomy and “blurs the important distinctions between free expression and academic freedom.” The authors also argue that the tabling of the bill shows that academic freedom is being weaponized by politicians, and conclude by discussing the similarities between QC’s bill and way other provincial and regional governments have engaged in ‘culture wars.’ The Conversation Note: Archived stories may contain dead links or be missing source links.