The official opposition says Francois Legault’s government is dividing Quebecers by forcing English universities to adopt “harmful” new rules for teaching French to students outside the province.
A day after Quebec Higher Education Minister Pascal Dery announced new requirements for McGill, Concordia and Bishop universities, interim leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, Marc Tanguay, published an open letter calling on the government to reverse course.
Under the new policy, which Dery announced in a social media post on Thursday, English-speaking universities could face unspecified financial penalties if 80 percent of their students do not reach the intermediate level, or level five, on the French language proficiency scale after graduation. . Just a few days ago, the trio of universities proposed a 40 per cent threshold, but they now say what the government is asking is unrealistic.
“Unfortunately, the government preferred division over progress, rejecting this proposal in favor of an unrealistic 80% concession condition,” Tanguay wrote in his letter on Friday.
“The Legault government was unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that non-resident Canadian students changed the linguistic dynamic in Quebec. Instead, they made their choice based on ideology rather than facts. There was no need for such chaos, and that remains the case.” correct. There is only one way out: François Legault needs to retreat for good. “Being a nationalist has nothing to do with harming Quebec or undermining its institutions.”
Deere also announced Thursday that under the new measures, tuition fees for non-Quebec undergraduates at McGill and Concordia will rise from about $9,000 to $12,000, down from the previous figure of $17,000 originally announced by the CAQ on Oct. 13. In Sherbrooke, Que., is exempt from high tuition fees.
Dery says the changes, which will take effect in the 2025-2026 academic year, are necessary to halt the decline of the French language in Quebec, especially in Montreal, and that the additional costs will be redistributed to French-speaking post-secondary institutions.
However, Legault’s government has been criticized for the controversial plan, which critics say was introduced without any data to back up their claims about the contribution of out-of-province students to the decline of the French language, and appears to have been a direct reaction to the sovereigntist party. Quebec (PQ) leads the CAQ in recent polls.
Tanguay says in his letter that reducing the tuition increase to $12,000 was a positive step, but it is still “not enough.”
“This increase in tuition fees is detrimental to Quebec’s renowned academic institutions, because it fails to provide any guarantee of the additional revenues that the government hopes to generate; on the contrary, students will choose to attend other universities,” the letter said.
McGill’s president called the new plan “a targeted attack on institutions that have been part of Quebec and have contributed to Quebec for hundreds of years.”
When the first version of the new measures was announced two months ago, Montreal Mayor Valery Plante said higher tuition fees would damage the city’s reputation. On Friday, a member of its executive committee gave his reaction to the government’s intentions.
Robert Beaudry, a city councilor in Ville-Marie, where McGill and Concordia are located, called on the Quebec government to “support the development of our universities.”
“Canadian and international students who choose Montreal have the potential to form a significant pool of skilled workers that Quebec needs to meet the challenges ahead,” Beaudry wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Montreal is a great university city. Regardless of the language taught, our institutions are recognized around the world and their reputation is unparalleled. Let’s continue the dialogue. Let’s keep Montreal attractive.”
McGill officials said at a news conference Thursday that the institution has been part of Quebec society for more than 200 years, and in the face of what it calls a “disastrous” government policy, they are not ruling out opening a branch or affiliate. Campus outside the province.
Mark Tanguay: A useful but insufficient reflection
Quebec’s language and education policies have once again become the center of controversy as Legault’s Liberal government has proposed a reversal of language rules and an increase in tuition fees for English universities. This shift in policy has sparked a heated debate among politicians, educators, and students, raising concerns about the potential impact on linguistic diversity and access to higher education in the province. The proposed changes have reignited the long-standing tensions between language preservation and the rights of English-speaking communities, setting the stage for a contentious and polarizing political battle.