Quebec’s higher education minister has ordered an investigation into the on-campus climate at Vanier College and Dawson College, saying there have been complaints from students who feel unsafe because of tensions stemming from the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

Pascale Déry made the announcement Tuesday morning in a social media post.

In an interview with Radio-Canada’s Tout un matin, Déry said the Higher Education Ministry has received several complaints in the last few months from students who say they feel “uneasy, uncomfortable or even unsafe” on campus.

“We have students that refuse to go to school or fear for their safety,” the minister said, adding that the province sat down with management at both CEGEPs during the summer to address the situation.

“I thought the situation would stabilize, but it seems the climate is even more tense.”

Déry said the tension at the schools is due to them having many Jewish and Muslim students and that the two groups “have hard time cohabitating.”

The higher education minister says she met with both Dawson and Vanier this summer to address concerns about their on-campus climate. (Chloe Ranaldi/CBC)

During the interview, Déry mentioned a few examples of complaints that have been filed: One complaint, she said, was about a math teacher who, instead of teaching math, gave students “a lecture on the history of Palestine.”

She also said complaints have come in about teachers cancelling classes to encourage students to go take part in protests.

Déry stressed during the interview that it’s not yet clear if the complaints are founded, and that she’s not even in a position to say whether the actions described in the complaints are problematic.

“Is it problematic? There are a lot of questions that can be asked. It’s not up to me to make a decision or come up with recommendations,” she said.

“This is the reason why I will name an investigator to do this work and to tell us, eventually, what the problems are and how we can better equip these schools.”

She said the investigation will focus on the CEGEPs’ “governance mechanisms” and whether they used every measure at their disposal to help students feel safe.

CBC News has reached out to both CEGEPs for comment and is waiting to hear back.

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