Concordia, a “residential school”?
People are talking about this Christian Rioux column in which he says Concordia University is just as much a tool of assimilation as the residential school system.
Le Devoir publishes many good, thoughtful opinion pieces. This is not one of them.
JaneyB 09:13 on 2021-06-20 Permalink
That is quite an obnoxious piece. The history of Franco-Indigenous relations is not at all rosy in QC despite a less comprehensive use of residential schools. Furthermore, comparing Francos attending Concordia to Indigenous people attending residential schools is the writing of a crazy man. With the headgear law in the air, a piece like this just stencilled a bullseye on the foreheads of nationalists in QC. The media blowback in the next weeks will be ferocious I’m sure.
Uatu 10:13 on 2021-06-20 Permalink
Does that mean the francophone MNAs who are Concordia grads r a buncha sellouts? Assimilated Manchurian candidates that can’t be completely trusted? Begin the Inquisition and root out the disloyal/s 😛
Jack 12:32 on 2021-06-20 Permalink
I read this book and it was a really interesting take on this issue. It demolishes the conservative nationalist narratives that Rioux exemplifies.
https://www.lapresse.ca/arts/chroniques/2021-06-20/litterature/sequelles-coloniales.php
Robert H 01:08 on 2021-06-22 Permalink
@Jack- Yes, that was an insightful column by Chantal Guy about Dalie Giroux’s book “L’Oeil du maître.” Mme Giroux correctly identifies the nationaliste mindset:
«…il y a une position de victimes du colonialisme dans notre récit, et c’est nous, les Canadiens français, personne d’autre. Un autre sujet politique colonisé ne peut pas exister parce que ça nous enlève notre position. »
«C’est comme si on n’avait pas vraiment digéré 1995 encore, que le Québec a une nostalgie de sa posture de victime, qui fait en sorte qu’on ne prend pas nos responsabilités. »
Then the author also identifies its antidote:
« On est structurellement, historiquement et institutionnellement impliqués là-dedans, poursuit-elle. Notre infériorisation en tant que Canadiens français est réelle, mais elle est relative. C’est-à-dire que nous, on s’en est sortis, mais pas en se solidarisant avec les Premières Nations, les immigrants et les gens racisés. Je trouve que c’est ce qu’il faut assumer maintenant. C’est ça dont il faut prendre responsabilité. »
The existence of indigenous people’s grievance is inconvenient to sovereignists because they realize they are historically implicated along with the anglo colonizers and no longer blameless. Christian Rioux’s column is coming from the opposite premise which is striking enough, but he closes his column with a ridiculous equivalence. He would probably dismiss Guy’s column, much less bother with Giroux’s book.