Education minister promises new history curriculum will be more representative

The province's controversial new highschool history curriculum will be changed to make it more representative of Quebec society, Education Minister Sbastien Proulx said Friday.

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A new version of the curriculum was drafted by the previous Parti Qubcoisgovernment, and is currently being circulated as part of a pilot project. A copy was obtained by CBC News.

But thecurriculum has attracted criticismfor failing to represent the diversity of the province's history.

Aboriginal activists have expressed dismay there is scant mention of residential schools.History teachers who have seen the curriculum saymany immigrantcommunities, such astheIrish, Italians, Greek and Caribbean populations, also get little mention.

Proulxsought toassure the curriculum's critics that he is listening to their concerns.He indicated they would be incorporated into thefinal version.

"I know there will be modifications in the weeks ahead," Proulx told reporters in Montreal."We'll take the time we need to ensure it's a program that reflects who we are."

'Huge improvement'

The course currently being circulated was developed following the 2012 election campaign, during which the PQpromised to emphasizeQuebec's struggle for nationhoodin the provincial school curriculum.

That version is not without its supporters.Gilles Laporte, a spokesperson for theCoalition pourl'histoire, described the new curriculum as a "huge improvement."

Laporte, who also teaches history at theCgepduVieuxMontral, said it streamlines pedagogical material, allowing teachers to address certain subjects in more depth.

He dismissed as an "old complaint" concernsthat the highschoolcurriculum focusestoo narrowlyon the English and French empire aspects of Quebec's early history.

"Quebec has a big colonial background, and that cannot be [avoided]," he said. "We have to explore our colonial background."