In the face of repeated attacks on university autonomy and academic freedom in North America, the Fédération québécoise des professeures et professeurs d’université (FQPPU) expresses its full solidarity with the Association of Nova Scotia University Teachers (ANSUT) in Nova Scotia and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP ) in the United States, who are currently under untenable pressure from their respective governments.
It also takes this opportunity to point out that Quebec is unfortunately not immune to this worrying trend. More than ever, the FQPPU wishes to remind all elected representatives, here and elsewhere, that preserving the independence of universities is essential to democracy, scientific innovation and the defense of a free and enlightened society.
In brief
- Faced with the worrying rise in political interference in North America, the FQPPU strongly denounces the attacks on university autonomy and academic freedom, particularly in Nova Scotia and the United States, but also in Quebec.
- The FQPPU reaffirms its determination and commitment to preserving the public-interest mission of universities, which is based in particular on their autonomy, free funding and rigorous protection of the university community against increasingly heavy external pressures.
- The FQPPU calls for an urgent mobilization, urging governments, university communities and citizens to firmly reject any authoritarian model of university management, drawing a fundamental lesson from the serious consequences observed around the world when science and teaching are subordinated to political, ideological or economic interests.
Waves of political interference compromise the social role of universities
In recent months, the public interest mission of universities has come under unprecedented attack in North America. In Nova Scotia, Bill 12 would give the provincial government excessive power over university governance, directly threatening their autonomy. In the United States, the situation is even more worrying: the federal government is multiplying repressive measures, such as targeted cuts in research funding, the dismantling of the Department of Education, the restriction of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and the repression of student protest movements. These measures also target Canadian researchers, who must now declare how their work aligns with the Trump administration’s political agenda when working on projects funded in whole or in part by U.S. federal agencies.
Quebec has not been spared this disturbing political drift. In recent months, the Legault government has drastically limited the number of international students accepted by Quebec universities and withdrawn university professors from simplified immigration processing. In addition to these ill-advised decisions, Minister Pascale Déry’s repeated and worrying interventions have included direct interference in teaching content on Palestine, arbitrarily blocking the appointment of a professor to her university’s board of directors, the contested reorganization of the Fonds de recherche du Québec under the control of the Ministère de l’Économie, and turning a deaf ear to the main stakeholders in the university network when unpopular measures were imposed. Taken together, these actions reveal a dangerous propensity to weaken institutional autonomy, seriously compromising the ability of our universities to fulfill their fundamental mission: the production and dissemination of critical knowledge through teaching, research, creation and community service.
We call on all players in society to mobilize with us, because defending the integrity of universities means preserving the very heart of our democracies.
“This unprecedented wave of political interference in North American universities forces us to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the public interest mission of universities, academic freedom and university autonomy,” says Madeleine Pastinelli, President of the FQPPU. “Whether it’s the worrying drift of Bill 12 in Nova Scotia, U.S. federal restrictions on research funding, academic freedom and freedom of expression, or the growing obstacles to international talent imposed by the Quebec government, our message is clear: the university must remain an autonomous space, free from censorship and political, ideological and economic pressure. We call on all players in society to mobilize with us, because defending the integrity of universities means preserving the very heart of our democracies.”
Faithful to its founding principles and aware of the global scope of these issues, FQPPU thus reaffirms its firm and ongoing commitment to its allies, ANSUT and AAUP, in this essential struggle for universities free to carry out their activities, without fear of reprisals. All over the world, examples of attacks on university autonomy and academic freedom are multiplying, leaving deep damage in their wake to the societies concerned. Let us collectively draw an essential lesson: this model of authoritarian drift cannot and must never become our own.
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