Frédéric Lacroix has established himself in recent years as an indispensable independent researcher when it comes time to analyze the French situation in Quebec. The National Assembly also won the most beautiful prize for the book Why Law 11 is a failure.
And he writes in the review of L’Action nationale of March, an excellent man and a remarkably well-documented document that he calls “the case of the house of UQAM”.
It shows how and why UQAM, which was one of the great successes of the Quiet Revolution and which was a symbol of the democratization of Francophone higher education, is falling today. And it coincided with UQAM in the French-speaking part of Montreal, as is evident from the disastrous situation of the Latin Quarter.
Cross
This decline of UQAM is accompanied by the rise of the spectacular Concordia, its English rival, which replaces it. This trend is strong. There is no indication that it can be turned around in the short or medium term. Especially when we don’t react to serious demographic and sociological trends with marketing campaigns.
It will be seen as both a sign of the decline of French influence in Quebec and a direct effect of demographic changes brought about by large-scale immigration. We will also see the effect of the costs of the university system, which disadvantages French-speaking universities to the advantage of English-speaking universities.
Higher education thus becomes an instrument of anglicization of the metropolis. It is a complete betrayal of the mission that the Parent Report once attributed to him.
To put it bluntly: Quebec owns its anglicization, its assimilation, in its higher education.
On the scale of history, we will see a collective suicide attempt that does not speak its name.
Can we still save the Quebec university system, and especially French-language higher education in Montreal? Can we still take the necessary steps to rebuild the French City of Montreal?
Is it too late?
Reading Lacroix, one can think so, but he clearly wants to believe the opposite, and the creation of a new Parent commission is requested and he commits it with the following mandate.
Recommendations
Allow me to recite it at last.
“1) Examine the present and future consequences of maintaining the concept of free will in post-secondary education
2) examine the implications of the current university funding model
3) Examine the consequences of federal funding in universities (ideological orientation, imposition of “Equity, diversity, inclusion” criteria, flooding of English universities)
4) To examine the current and future implications of allophones and francophones for studies in CEGEP and universities in English.
5) Determine if Quebec still has the means to establish a dual post-secondary system.
We understand what he wants: to franchise higher education as much as possible in Montreal, which at least requires the renewal of UQAM, no longer agreeing to the descent of Concordia.
Will the Quebec government, which calls itself nationalist and claims to be fighting against the French decline, listen?
