Quebec wants history courses rewritten to accentuate French struggle

The old saying goes that history is written by the victors. In Quebec, an addendum may be necessary that notes it is re-written by the victors of the most recent election.

The Toronto Star reports that Quebec's sovereigntist government is planning to introduce a high school curriculum that teaches history "through the lens of French Canada's unique travails, including its struggle for nationhood."

The course will be tested in 90 classes across the province next September. Among other topics, it will address the founding of New France, the British conquest and the ongoing issue of sovereignty in Quebec.

Some have expressed fear that the new curriculum is a plan to strengthen the separatist cause, by getting to young Quebeckers as they are forming their opinions on the subject.

“The most reluctant speakers said that above all they worried about an overly patriotic version of history, closer to propaganda than to the discipline of history,” wrote the authors of a report on the curriculum, according to the Star.

A Canadian government accused of attempting to re-write history for their own political advantage? To that, I ask: How are Quebec's government and Canada's government not be bestest of friends?

The Conservative government has made it own recent practice of, shall we say, reassessing the accuracy of historical hindsight. Last year, they announced that Tory MPs would launch a "thorough and comprehensive review of significant aspects in Canadian history."

The review was said to emphasize Canadian battles, which would appeal to the military community often considered Conservative.

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The federal government has also faced recent complaints about manipulating Canada's historical perspective through by rebranding the Canadian Museum of History, heavily commemorating the War of 1812 and making cuts to Parks Canada as well as Library and Archives Canada.

Said NDP MP Dan Harris at the time, "The last thing Canadians want is politicians deciding what's in their children's textbooks."

Indeed, there was significant outrage in 2012 when Prime Minister Stephen Harper erroneously claimed the NDP did not support Canada's involvement in WWII, prompting the Twitter hashtag #HarperHistory.

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Holding skepticism toward Quebec's intention to refocus its history curriculum is warranted. The Parti Quebecois has waged war on several fronts in its vision to redraft the province in a strictly francophone light, most specifically launching a divisive values charter and through its over-reaching language watchdog, which has demanded everything from Wal-Mart and Italian restaurants to home-grown companies and their Facebook pages operate in French.

It is important to appreciate that Quebec's history is unique, moreso than most other provinces, and their curriculum should appreciate that. The trial curriculum is the result of extensive review and, according to Education Minister Marie Malavoy it will not be politically charged.

On the other hand, the assurances come from the same education minister who, in 2012, announced plans to eliminate English from French elementary schools and increase the amount of time spent teaching sovereignty.

Anything that sniffs of an attempt to rewrite history is a concern worth noting, especially when the edits are coming at the hands of a divisive government.

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