DSU Response to Ministry of Higher Education (MES) Investigation Report On Student Safety On Campus.

Dawson Student Union rejects MES Investigation Report and calls for Minister Déry’s Resignation

2 sept 2025

Updated 9:56 PM

In the 2024-2025 academic year, the Dawson Student Union (DSU) took significant actions to advocate for its members, notably supporting a student-led strike for Palestine in November 2024. This event triggered tensions, leading to a politically biased investigation by the Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur (MES) into the safety of students at Dawson and Vanier Colleges.

The resulting June 2025 report covered various issues, including a Special General Assembly (SGA) and its resulting student union strike, the legitimacy of campus prayer rooms, and threatened student associations’ financial independence by attacking the core principles behind the Act respecting the accreditation and financing of student associations.

As a student union, it is our main objective to represent the entirety of our members. The DSU assures the safety of all students and is dedicated to protecting their rights. The SGA and November strike resulted from a democratic process initiated by a petition submitted in

accordance with our rules by DSU members (who are all Dawson students). In response, the

DSU followed all established procedures and acted accordingly to its legal obligations.

This report is deeply flawed, the main discrepancies are outlined as followed:

The prayer rooms on campus are open to all students, regardless of background or belief. They are intended to support the religious and spiritual needs of the student body and are not tied to or promoting any ideology or doctrine. They are there to ensure respect, accommodation and accessibility for all. The DSU stands in solidarity with all faith-based groups we oversee, and we are committed to maintaining a safe, inclusive and respectful environment. There is no link between prayer rooms and violence or intimidation on campus. Claims suggesting otherwise reflect the CAQ’s agenda of extreme secularism and its ongoing efforts to undermine charter-protected rights.

Additionally, the report criticizes both associations for allegedly acting beyond a “non-political”mandate. Within the DSU structure, “non-political” means non-partisan politics, and the same interpretation applies to our affiliated bodies. As a student union, we are inherently political in that we advocate for the diverse interests of our members through democratic processes, regardless of whether these interests align with those of other institutions. The investigators were given that information and they chose to ignore it and apply their own false interpretation.

In this regards , during our Annual General Assembly (AGA), the DSU membership

democratically adopted two new positions: we stand in support of students, teachers, and

professionals who condemn the decades-long occupation and genocide in Palestine. We

equally strongly condemn anti-Palestinian, islamaphobic and antisemitic hate. Furthermore, we uphold the right to self-determination for all oppressed peoples worldwide.

Finally, the report also talks about the Plant student newspaper and its constitution. The Plant was at its origins part of a course given at Dawson College. It is no longer the case and has operated as an unincorporated entity. They are currently being restructured to be an

independent student newspaper formed as a not for profit, a process which was completed

earlier this month. An outdated version of the constitution was provided to the investigators in good faith, with clarification that it was no longer in effect and that the structure would be

updated in the current academic year. The investigators decided to spin this narrative, claiming they don’t follow their constitution, ignoring the provided context.

The DSU remains committed to supporting and amplifying the voices of those we represent

whereas the Ministry has made it clear it is committed to pushing an oppressive narrative,

aiming to limit academic freedoms, and student expression. This report is purely political to

justify the policies and actions of the CAQ. The DSU stands firm in its rejection of the

investigation recommendations and we hope to assure all Dawson students that our main goal remains to support those at the heart of our operations.

The DSU demands that Pascale Déry resign from her position as Minister of Higher Education due to a clear conflict of interest and general incompetence in protecting higher education in Quebec. If she refuses, we urge the premier to reassign the ministry to someone more qualified and move Pascale Déry to the backbenches during the upcoming cabinet reshuffle. Lastly, call on the Quebec government to reject all recommendations from the report.