Concerns about campus safety are rising as the Legault government halts a key initiative in its action plan against sexual violence due to budget cuts. This includes the cancellation of a vital national survey designed to assess safety in Quebec’s higher education institutions. The Student Union of Quebec criticizes the decision, emphasizing the necessity of such data for effective policy evaluation, while alternative measures are deemed insufficient to cover the comprehensive insights originally intended.
Concerns Over Safety on Campuses Amid Budget Cuts
In light of recent budget constraints, the Legault government has decided to discontinue a crucial component of the action plan aimed at combating sexual violence in higher education, raising alarms among the Student Union of Quebec regarding campus safety.
Impact of Terminating the National Survey
The action plan, launched in 2022, included financing for a pivotal national survey targeting students and staff across Quebec’s CEGEPs and universities. An agreement worth $1.12 million was finalized in March 2024 with the Quebec Institute of Statistics to initiate this important project.
However, this agreement was abruptly terminated by the Ministry of Higher Education in July, citing “administrative reasons,” as revealed by documents obtained through a freedom of information request made by the Student Union of Quebec (UEQ).
The president of the Student Union, Étienne Paré, expressed frustration, stating, “We are upset. The absence of funding for such surveys raises serious concerns. Without this information, we cannot ascertain whether our campuses are safe.” He emphasized the importance of this measure as it is essential for evaluating the effectiveness of the other initiatives within the action plan.
Geneviève Paquette, a professor at the University of Sherbrooke and a member of the steering committee for the survey, echoed these sentiments. “This study was highly anticipated, and it would have been insightful to assess the return on investment,” she noted.
The Student Union further criticized the CAQ government’s austerity measures, arguing that they are detrimental to the student body. “Investing one million dollars to determine the safety of our campuses is not a luxury,” Paré insisted.
Interestingly, potential savings from terminating this contract may be negligible. The contract stipulated that Quebec would bear the “actual value of the services rendered.” According to the timeline associated with the contract, the survey questionnaire had already been drafted and revised prior to its cancellation, a point confirmed by Paquette.
While the exact financial implications of this contract termination remain unclear, the office of Quebec’s Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry, indicated that an alternative survey focusing on students’ mental health will also gather data related to sexual violence. “In light of the costs associated with this specific measure, we determined that the agreement with the Quebec Institute of Statistics was no longer the most effective way to obtain the necessary data,” explained her press representative, Simon Savignac.
Paquette, who is also involved in the mental health survey, expressed skepticism. She believes that the limited questions added to this questionnaire cannot match the comprehensive data that the sexual violence survey would have provided. “It will never cover the breadth of information we had originally planned,” she stated.
Data collection on this issue is deemed “more necessary than ever” by the Quebec government. “Evidence-based data is crucial… Conducting a survey on the current landscape in higher education institutions will equip the ministry with valuable insights that will inform its prevention, communication, and intervention strategies,” as highlighted in the Action Plan Against Sexual Violence in Higher Education (2022-2027).