Three years after the passage of the Loi sur la liberté académique dans le milieu universitaire, Quebec's universities remain vulnerable to the very threats the legislation was meant to guard against. The promise of an environment conducive to learning, research, and debate has clashed with a sobering reality: institutions are slow to implement the awareness-raising, information, and promotional measures required by the law (as revealed by access-to-information reports), even as academic freedom violations multiply.
In 2025, Quebec is not immune to a global trend, documented by the Academic Freedom Index, of declining academic freedom, even in long-standing democracies. Here, Minister Pascale Déry's harmful actions including her refusal to acknowledge threats from the U.S. against researchers, as well as her interference in teaching content and faculty appointments have hollowed out the very ministry charged with protecting this freedom. On this grim anniversary, the Fédération québécoise des professeures et professeurs d'université (FQPPU) declares it is time to restore the public mission of universities.
Relight the Beacon: A Mobilization to Restore the University's Mission
This global erosion of academic freedom is but a symptom of a broader storm declining collegiality, threats to institutional autonomy, budgetary manipulation, and managerial drift that directly undermines the university's fundamental democratic role. In response, FQPPU unveils Relight the Beacon, a rallying manifesto calling for engagement and resistance. It marks the launch of a campaign to restore the university's capacity to fulfill its public mission.
"The university is not a brand to be sold, nor a parrot for political and economic rhetoric serving private interests," said Madeleine Pastinelli, president of FQPPU. "The university must remain a beacon for the public where critical thinking can challenge, where truth is not negotiable, and where society can reflect and imagine alternative futures." In a climate of increasing cynicism, polarization, and disinformation, the Federation invites all those committed to free inquiry and democratic vitality to join this movement.
Adopted unanimously by FQPPU's Federal Council in April, the campaign centers on five pillars essential to the university's mission, all under serious threat:
- A massive and sustained reinvestment in universities as a public good
- Full protection of academic freedom
- Authentic collegial governance
- Concrete measures to ensure institutional autonomy
- A united front against the commodification of knowledge
This mobilization aims to reignite public debate on the university's role in democratic life and to underscore its status as a cornerstone of our society. "We also want political interference in universities or budget cuts to higher education and research to be seen as shameful, politically costly, and socially unacceptable," Pastinelli added. "The university's mission is too important to be surrendered to interests that do not serve the common good. It's time we reclaim it, together." Let us recall that on May 13, FQPPU called for the immediate resignation of Minister Pascale Déry, whose repeated actions have broken all trust with the university communities.
For more information
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www.fqppu.org
