University classrooms are not safe spaces – AF committee

Quebec university classrooms are not safe spaces and post-secondary institutions should not be imposing the use of so-called trigger warnings, according to a report released Tuesday 14 December by a committee on academic freedom, writes Virginie Ann for The Canadian Press.

The provincial government created the committee in March in reaction to reports about professors in the province who avoided teaching controversial material out of fear of confrontation with students. The committee is also in response to controversy at the University of Ottawa, where a professor was suspended in 2020 for using the N-word during a class lecture.

“Universities are specific institutions. It’s not high school – it’s a place where you advance knowledge through debates,” said Alexandre Cloutier, a former Parti Québécois cabinet minister tasked by the government to lead the committee.
Full report on the Global News site