“A flaw in the process, due to human error. It is with these words, spoken last February, that the management of a school in the Montérégie justified the fact of having had for 15 years among its teaching staff a man who had nevertheless been convicted three times for pimping. during the 1990s.
Given the nature of the charges, it is appropriate to note the euphemism represented by the explanation offered by the school: the error committed is in fact gigantic, the flaw, gaping. Moreover, it illustrates the crucial importance of taking into account past offenses when it comes to cracking down on sexual violence. Recidivism must not go unpunished. To preserve public safety, it is therefore essential that the administrative loopholes that allow this type of situation be quickly closed.
In this regard, the student associations of universities and CEGEPs in the province as well as their allies in associations and unions wish to alert your departments to the fact that one of these flaws continues to undermine the safety of members of the university and college communities. of the province. This loophole concerns the amnesty clauses. This is a provision present in most of the collective agreements in force in the universities of the province which leads to the erasure of the infractions contained in the disciplinary files of the personnel employed after as little as one or two years, according to the agreements.
The application of amnesty clauses in the case of offenses of a sexual nature therefore allows a person to commit sexual violence, to wait until they are erased from their disciplinary record after one or two years and to reoffend without the sanction to which she is exposed takes into account the repetitive nature of the violence for which she is responsible. A person guilty of recidivism can therefore maintain his employment relationship with a higher education institution, provided that the offenses of which he is guilty have been committed at intervals of a duration consistent with his collective agreement.
Consequently, the inclusion of sexual violence in the amnesty clauses prevents the application by universities and CEGEPs of section 3.15 of the Act to prevent and combat sexual violence in educational institutions. superior, according to which institutional policies must contain “sanctions applicable in the event of breaches […]which take into account their nature, seriousness and repetitive nature”.
The current situation therefore represents a significant risk to the safety of the entire university community. It is your responsibility, Mr.me Pascale Déry, as Minister of Higher Education, to rectify the situation. Moreover, we suspect that this information will hardly surprise you. As the recent report on the implementation of the Act points out, the executives of our associations have met many times with members of your cabinet and those of the Minister of Labor to express our concerns to them about this situation.
During these meetings, you and your teams in turn absolved yourselves of responsibility for the issue by indicating that its resolution would ultimately be a matter of negotiations prior to the adoption of these collective agreements in each of the province’s establishments. In fact, you allow this crucial article of the Act to be negotiated sometimes for the benefit of university and college administrations, sometimes for the benefit of unions, but never for the benefit of victims of sexual violence committed in universities and CEGEPs.
It is however clear that the priority of any ministry should not only be to ensure compliance with the laws for which it is responsible, but above all to ensure the safety of the people using the services it provides. It should be remembered that sexual violence is still a topical problem in higher education institutions.
According to the most recent data, 40.6% of women and 50.7% of people from the LGBTQIA2S+ community will actually experience some form of this type of violence committed by another member of their establishment. during their studies. More generally, 36% of all members of university and college communities will experience sexual violence during their career.
This is why we encourage you to quickly implement the necessary legislative changes to exclude offenses of a sexual nature from the amnesty clauses present in the collective agreements in force in the province’s higher education institutions. Today, more than ever, it is necessary to take concrete action for the benefit of everyone’s safety.
* Also signed this text:
Samy-Jane Tremblay, President of the Quebec Student Union (UEQ)
Julianna Smith, Concordia Student Union (CSU) External Affairs and Engagement Coordinator
Vickie Bourque, President of the Confederation of Student Associations of Laval University (CADEUL)
Macia De Oliveira, president of the student association of the tele-university of the University of Quebec (AÉTÉLUQ)
Ghita Hemri, interim president of the Association of Laval students enrolled in higher education (AÉLIES)
Catherine Pelletier, President of the Student Association of the School of Management Sciences (AéESG)
Thibault Jousselin, Secretary General of the General Student Association of the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (AGEUQTR)
Alexandre Guimond, Executive Director of the University of Sherbrooke Master’s, Diploma and Doctoral Student Group (REMDUS)
Kristi Kouchakji, General Secretary of Post-Graduate Students’ Society of McGill University (PGSS)
Nicolas Charron, External Affairs Coordinator of the Polytechnique Student Association (AEP)
Élisa Lemée, Coordinator of Local and Environmental Affairs of the Movement of General Student Associations of the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi (MAGE-UQAC)
Mamadou Lamarana Diallo, President of the General Student Association of the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue (AGEUQAT)
Jérémie Cholette, President of the Association of Graduate Students of HEC Montreal (AECSHEC)
Gabrielle Fréchette-Boilard, President of the General Association of Off-Campus Students of the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (AGE-HC)
Marie Christine Hudon, President of the General Association of Students of the University of Quebec in Rimouski, Lévis campus (AGECALE)
Ivan Trancart, President of the Polytechnique Graduate Student Association (AÉCSP)
Adil Hussain, President of the Student Association of the École de technologie supérieure (AÉÉTS)
Hadrien Chénier-Marais, President and General Coordinator of the General Association of Students of the Faculty of Continuing Education of the University of Montreal (AGEEFEP)
Cynthia Mbuya-Bienge, President of the Union of Student and Postdoctoral Workers of Laval University (STEP)
Bruce McKenna, Head of External Affairs, Union of Students Employed at UQAM (SÉTUE)
Sylvain Bisaillon, President of the International Alliance of Theater and Film Employees of the United States, its Territories and Canada Local Section 262 (AIEST)
Christian Lacelle, President of the Union of Students and Employees of the University of Quebec in Outaouais (SEES-UQO)
Kwabena Otchere, President of the Union of Library Employees of Concordia University (FEESP-CSN)
Mélanie Médard, Vice-President for Communication and Mobilization of the Union Association of Student Workers at UQTR (ASTRE-AFPC)
Émilie Cormier, President of the Union of Students and Employees of the University of Quebec at Rimouski (SEES-UQAR)
Martin Trudeau, President of the Association of Executives and Professionals of the University of Montreal (ACPUM)
General Association of Cégep du Baie-Comeau (AGEECBC)
Regrouping of students from the Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe (RÉÉCSH)
Quebec Collegiate Student Federation (FECQ)