The increase in tuition fees for students from outside Quebec worries the boss of the Bank of Montreal, but the Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, supports the government’s decision.
“It’s an initiative that diminishes the strength of the university sector in Quebec and undermines Quebec’s economy,” says Grégoire Baillargeon, president of BMO Financial Group for Quebec.
“The strength of our university network allows us to attract and retain talent from around the world. It is this competitive advantage that must be preserved. »
The fear is to see an increase in tuition fees discouraging students from coming to learn in the English-speaking universities of Quebec-the most affected by the measure-and moreover in the current context of shortage of labor.
Québec a annoncé il y a deux semaines son intention d’instaurer de nouvelles mesures pour l’automne prochain, notamment une majoration des droits de scolarité pour les étudiants en provenance d’une autre province canadienne. Leurs droits de scolarité passeront de près de 9000 $ à 17 000 $ par année – ce qui permettrait de récupérer environ 110 millions par an selon le gouvernement, pourvu que le nombre d’étudiants ne diminue pas. The kitty will be redistributed to French -speaking universities.
The government signaled last week that it is considering exempting Canadians who come to attend a French-speaking university from the fee increase. Moreover, the increase should only affect those who attend English-speaking universities, the government was told shortly before the official announcement.
For their part, foreign students will have to pay a minimum fee of $20,000, an amount from which the government will make a deduction of around $3,000 to ensure fairness between French-speaking and English-speaking establishments. Fees were deregulated under the Couillard government, which has since allowed universities to charge whatever amount they want and keep the prize pool – a long-standing request from McGill.
The Legault government’s initiative is part of an action plan to protect French.
« On est très sensible comme organisation à l’ensemble des actifs du Québec et de Montréal dans le monde », dit Grégoire Baillargeon en entrevue. « On considère qu’être un pôle universitaire de renommée mondiale est un actif extraordinaire pour le Québec. The choice of society to have this university center is very important and we must ask ourselves the question as a society of how we want to use this asset. »
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If Grégoire Baillargeon concedes that it is necessary to do more to protect French in Quebec, he underlines that important initiatives being deployed could make a considerable difference in the francization of students who come from outside Quebec.
He is referring in particular to the $50 million investment project for the promotion of French that McGill University suspended last week in reaction to the government’s decision to almost double annual tuition fees for students from outside of Province. As La Presse wrote on October 13, the university canceled the announcement of its plan scheduled for October 11 upon learning that the government was preparing to make its decision public; les cartons d’invitation avaient même été envoyés.
His opinion echoes that of the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal. Last week, Michel Leblanc was quoted in the Montreal Gazette, saying that Montreal businesses fear that many students from outside Quebec will now decide to look elsewhere to study.
The Minister of the Economy and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, considers that the government’s decision makes sense. “I think it makes sense that students from Canada who come to study in Quebec pay the price of the service,” he said during a press scrum Wednesday in Quebec.
At $17,000, the tuition fees imposed on students from other provinces will correspond to what their training costs the Quebec state, explained the Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry.
Pierre Fitzgibbon also argued that “most” of students from other provinces who attend Bishop’s “leave and don’t stay here” after their training.
He argued that Quebecers who go to study elsewhere in the country “pay a price that is not subsidized” by the province.
Remember that in the most recent budgetary rules concerning universities, the government justified the price hitherto set at $9,000 as follows: “Since the fall term of 1997, Canadian students and permanent residents of Canada who are not residents of Quebec pay tuition fees that are generally comparable to those in effect at universities elsewhere in Canada. »
