Quebec unmoved by English universities' plea to cancel tuition hike
Goal is to ensure at least 40% of students attain intermediate level of French
Quebec has indicated it would push forward with a tuition hike for out-of-province students despite an offer from the province's English universities to teach them more French.
The offer, which the heads of McGill, Concordia and Bishop's universities presented on Monday, proposes several measures, including mandatory French-as-a-second-language courses, which they say will mean their graduates are better equipped to live and work in Quebec.
In a statement, the schools said they "recognize that French remains under threat in Quebec, particularly in Montreal, and reaffirm that all universities are the government's natural allies in the protection, promotion and influence of French in Quebec and elsewhere in the world."
Later on Monday, Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry, who announced last month that tuition fees would double for out-of-province students from the rest of Canada — in part to reduce the decline of French in Quebec, said in a statement that her ministry was "delighted" to see the universities recognize the decline of the French language and offer more French instruction.
But there were no signs the government would change course.
"It's not up to Quebec taxpayers to finance the education of thousands of Canadian students outside Quebec," the ministry said in a statement, adding that it would continue to have discussions and find a solution specific to Bishop's University, a smaller school in Quebec's Eastern Townships region.
The government has framed the tuition hike as a way to stop Quebec taxpayers from subsidizing anglophone students who come from elsewhere in the country to study in Montreal, many of whom then leave without learning French.
Premier François Legault has said those students contribute to the decline of French in Quebec.
The universities met on Monday with Legault and Déry to outline their plan, which they hoped would mean at least 40 per cent of non-French-speaking students enrolled in undergraduate programs would attain an intermediate level of French by the time they graduate.
In a statement, the universities said they will also offer more opportunities for internships in French and activities to promote Quebec culture.
They warned that if Quebec goes ahead with the tuition hike it could find itself isolated and could "also expose itself to retaliatory measures that would jeopardize the ability of Québec students to study elsewhere in Canada."
The government's decision to hike tuition fees for out-of-province students was announced in October.
Starting in fall 2024, Canadian students who attend university in Quebec will be charged approximately $17,000 per year for — compared to the current cost of just under $9,000 — while international students will be charged a minimum rate of about $20,000.
Some of the extra money will be used in part to fund Quebec's French-language universities, according to the government.
The news sparked protests and concern from Quebec's English universities that many students will no longer be able to afford to study in the province and that the policy will ultimately undermine Quebec society as a whole.
The universities argue in their statement that the government is essentially setting up a system "whereby funding for French-language universities becomes somehow dependent on the ability of English-language universities to recruit Canadian and International students."
But the tuition hike "is actually taking away the English-language universities' ability to do so," the statement said.
The effect on the English universities will be dramatic, they argue.
"For Bishop's University, its very survival is at stake," the statement reads. "As for Concordia and McGill universities, the combined losses are estimated at over $100 million a year according to conservative scenarios, not to mention the devastating consequences for the Quebec economy."
Speaking to reporters after the meeting with Legault and Déry, McGill Principal Deep Saini called the proposition "unprecedented."
"We had a very open discussion with the government," he said
Concordia University President Graham Carr said he feels optimistic.
"We've made it very clear that we are natural allies with the government's desire to protect and promote French," said Carr.
"Above all our concern is that the reputation of our universities and the strength of the university sector in Quebec remains important and visible, not just in Quebec but externally as well."
WATCH | Taking a look at Quebec's justification for the tuition increase:
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with files from Mélissa François and Matthew Lapierre