Ontario Faculty Oppose Ministerial Dictate of Bill 166 Targeting Support for Palestine
Many individuals and organizations have spoken out in opposition to Bill 166, which in the name of opposing racism and "hate," serves to target students and faculty supporting Palestine and denouncing U.S./Israeli genocide. Ontario Minister of Colleges and Universities Jill Dunlop introduced Bill 166, the Strengthening Accountability and Student Supports Act, 2024 in the legislature on February 26 and it is currently at third reading. The bill allows the Minister of Education to issue directives to universities that would determine how they deal with issues like racism, including deciding what constitutes anti-Semitism. It is a means to silence students and faculty speaking out in their own name for their rights and especially those in the many current actions supporting resistance in Palestine.
The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), in a statement from April 15, emphasized that "Without speech protections in place, we are concerned that policy directives will infringe on university autonomy, prevent universities from fulfilling their missions, and lead to a more polarized and litigious environment that risks suppressing speech. These issues are especially important as the government has issued directives that have sought to justify interference in the academic governance and autonomy of Ontario's universities. Most recently, we raised concerns with Minister Dunlop in a letter about her naming faculty and students in the Ontario legislature who expressed their views on war in Israel and Gaza. We firmly believe that it is inappropriate to name faculty or students in this manner in the legislature, as it impeded both academic freedom and university autonomy."
The statement brought out that "Policies introduced under this Bill must support the speech rights of students, staff, and faculty, without threats of funding cuts or otherwise withholding financial support, and without discipline. Academic freedom, intellectual inquiry, and democracy itself depend on the ability to engage in respectful debate without risking punishment for teaching and research that does not align with the government's priorities."
In a public letter dated April 16 the Jewish Faculty Network said, in part, "Our opposition to all forms of racism makes section 20 of Bill 166 -- referring to policies and rules regarding racism and hate -- of specific concern. The language included in that section indicates that the Minister may issue directives and timelines regarding topics or elements to be included in the policies or rules of a college or university. Such directives could violate freedom of speech, for instance through a requirement that universities adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IHRA) Working Definition of Anti-Semitism and its illustrative examples, a definition which has been widely discredited, including by its own drafter. The problem with the IHRA definition is that it has been weaponized by its proponents to make false charges of anti-Semitism against legitimate criticism of the State of Israel. In a letter now signed by over 210 Jewish faculty from across Canadian universities and colleges, we summarized criticism made of the IHRA definition by multiple groups of experts, including experts in the history of the Holocaust, Israel and anti-Semitism."
The statement warns that "the possible suppression of legitimate protest against Israel's actions through Ministerial directive would impact many students who already experience a great deal of racism, including anti-Palestinian racism, anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Black racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. If the Minister were to use a directive to impose the discredited IHRA definition against such students, it would only exacerbate their anxiety and alienation. Such a climate will inevitably lead to conditions detrimental to student mental health -- health that Bill 166 purports to protect."
Faculty4Palestine, a Canada-wide solidarity network of academics committed to advancing the struggle for Palestinian liberation, justice and equality through the academic sector also issued a statement of opposition to Bill 166. They say, in part, "This constitutes a radical attack on academic freedom. And it is being carried out in a period in which students and faculty speaking out on Palestinian rights and in opposition to the current genocidal war on Gaza are being harassed, sanctioned and otherwise silenced. Given the current government's adoption of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, and the fact that its Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities' recently named specific pro-Palestine faculty and students in the Ontario legislature -- a move that invited doxing [the deliberate release of private information online without consent] and harassment -- Faculty4Palestine understands Bill 166 as not only an attempt to reverse the 100-year-old principle of university self-governance. It is also a continuation of a decades-long "silencing campaign" that seeks to extinguish voices of Palestinian resistance and solidarity." They call on academics to join the letter-writing campaign to Stop Bill 166.
The Coalition Against Political Interference in Public Research and Education in Ontario launched a letter-writing campaign on Actionnetwork.org for individuals to write to Ontario MPPs on Bill 166 which, it says, "demonstrates the Ford government's continued failure to understand mental health and anti-racism, and its insistence on trying to control post-secondary institutions rather than fund them." In its appeal to Stop Bill 166 the coalition says that "[Bill 166] also constitutes a degree of political interference unheard of in Ontario post-secondary institutions. The protection of universities from political interference is not only legally enshrined in the University Acts but also internationally recognized to be a cornerstone of democracy. University autonomy safeguards academic freedom and the development of rigorous, critical, innovative research and education that academic freedom allows -- including in the areas of mental health and anti-racism." To send a letter click here.
This article was published in
Volume 54 Number 32 - May 9, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS54328.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca