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Despite the Parti Québécois’s defeat in the last election, at least one part of its conservative-nationalist agenda is still in the process of being realized: rewriting Quebec’s Secondary 3 and 4 history program.

The new course, which was created by the PQ during its last minority mandate, is currently being piloted at the Secondary 3 level and, according to Quebec’s Ministry of Education, is to be fully implemented in both years by 2017-18.

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Having read the new provisional program, I believe the English-speaking community should be very concerned about what this history course will mean for our youth. This conservative-nationalist version of Quebec’s past means that our community’s diverse roles in Quebec’s past are either ignored or, even worse, characterized as being in perpetual opposition to the French-speaking community.

The new course describes the Quebec nation as incarnated solely in its majority language community and those who assimilate into it. The diversity of Quebec citizenship is a dead letter. Moreover, the new course has a narrative of Quebecers as an embattled minority, constantly under attack and fated for disappearance. Nearly every section begins with conflict. To have conflict, one needs two parties and, yes, that conflict requires an “other.” Sadly, this type of otherness does little to promote diversity and unity.