CEGEPs

Hundreds of students walk out during day of action for Palestine. Photo Asa Kohn

Alice Martin,
Local Journalism Initiative

Students denounce Quebec’s higher education minister investigation into CEGEPs

On March 26, around 200 students walked out of Dawson College and marched to Concordia University as part of a student day of action for Palestine.

Students demanded the immediate halt of the Quebec higher education minister’s investigation into CEGEP course content on Palestine. Students also demanded the resignation of Quebec Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry. 

According to a spokesperson for Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR) Dawson, who was granted anonymity for safety, two CEGEPs are currently on strike. That includes Cégep de Saint-Laurent and Collège de Maisonneuve, with others like Dawson planning walkouts in solidarity.

Beyond the investigation, Déry also recently came under fire for an alleged conflict of interest, as the minister was a board member of the Quebec branch of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs from 2016 to 2022. 

The rally was organized by SPHR Dawson and endorsed by 40 student and community organizations, including the Concordia Student Union and SPHR Concordia.

“It was important for SPHR to begin this walk at Dawson because we are the college being investigated by the ministry, along with Vanier,” the SPHR Dawson spokesperson said. “It was important for us to show the opposition of Dawson students to the investigation on our campus by holding a demonstration.”

Dozens of police officers—in cars, on foot, on bikes and on horseback—were on the scene, encircling the protest from its commencement at around 1:30 p.m. to the end. Students walked and chanted down Ste. Catherine St. all the way from Dawson to Concordia.

“There were a couple hundred protesters which were followed by about 10 riot vans, dozens of riot cops on all sides,” said the SPHR spokesperson. “It’s shameful and unacceptable.”

The rally briefly stopped between Concordia’s Henry F. Hall Building and J.W. McConnell Building at around 3 p.m. Student demonstrators denounced Concordia’s ties to Israel through its investments and partnerships with companies complicit in genocide. 

The rally remained contained by police and was eventually forced to move up Mackay St. towards Sherbrooke St. W.

Students walked towards McGill University, chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and denouncing the university’s involvement with Israel. The rally, however, stopped in front of The Ritz-Carlton, where protesters dispersed at around 3:40 p.m.