this post was submitted on 14 Dec 2023
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Quebec hikes tuition by 30 per cent for McGill, Concordia, imposes French requirement (www.winnipegfreepress.com)
submitted 8 months ago by grte@lemmy.ca to c/canada@lemmy.ca
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[–] psvrh@lemmy.ca 22 points 8 months ago

Oh, Montreal business owners are going to be all over this. And it would matter, if Legault cared what Montreal thinks.

It's like Doug Ford and Toronto (or Hamilton): they know the cities won't vote for them, and they get more engagement from riling up their reactionary base than trying to govern for the whole province, so fuck them urban elites, amirite? I mean, they're only the economic engine of the province...

[–] blunderworld@lemmy.ca 19 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Can't wait to hear arguments from those who have deluded themselves into believing this is about protecting Quebec's culture.

Because its totally not about pushing anglophones and other minorities out of the province. We all know that Papa Legault just loves them. /s

[–] Evkob@lemmy.ca 13 points 8 months ago

The tuition hike I fully disagree with (to be frank I think tuition should be free for all universities but that's a whole other conversation).

However, I agree with having a French requirement. Québec is a French-majority province, so it makes sense to require French language classes. I attended the largest Canadian francophone university outside Québec (l'Université de Moncton) and a lot of programs had an English requirement (you could get exempted by passing a test, which to be fair I don't know if exemptions will be part of Québec's policy).

Most jobs in New Brunswick, or at least most of those that require a degree, necessitate communicating in English at times, so it makes sense to have an English requirement. Similarly, most jobs in Québec necessitate some French so it makes sense to have a French requirement.

[–] Pxtl@lemmy.ca 12 points 8 months ago (1 children)

They seem determined to destroy one of the top 3 most prestigious universities in Canada.

[–] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works -2 points 8 months ago

That university seems determined to act like it's not established in Quebec so...

[–] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 8 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Oh no, tuition for Canadians from outside Quebec will cost as much as it does for Quebecois when they study in other provinces! 😱

Oh no, international students will still pay less to study in Quebec than they would to study in Ontario! 😱

Oh no, the government is finally doing something so French universities in the only French province aren't systematically underfunded! 😱

Easy to make a bad analysis when you don't compare to the situation in other provinces.

https://www.fredsavard.com/balado/episode/s06-ep11-le-financement-des-universites-enfin-explique-aux-enfants-et-surtout-a-leurs-parents/230

[–] blunderworld@lemmy.ca 0 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Oh no, tuition for Canadians from outside Quebec will cost as much as it does for Quebecois when they study in other provinces!

Okay, so what does that have to with this policy, which only impacts English language universities? High tuition is a problem across Canada, yes, but that doesn't justify unfair or discriminatory policies based around language in Quebec.

Oh no, international students will still pay less to study in Quebec than they would to study in Ontario!

Again, whattaboutism with no relevance to the story being discussed here. Unless you're arguing that Quebec shouldnt be held accountable for this decision just because other provinces have problems as well.

Oh no, the government is finally doing something so French universities in the only French province aren't systematically underfunded!

If you're saying that French language universities in Quebec are underfunded compared to English universities, I'd love to see some data to support that. Because anecdotally, I've attended multiple English schools in Quebec -- including one of the universities cited in this story -- and I can tell you they were far from being well-funded.

And if French universities are comparably or better funded than their English equivalents, yet people still prefer going to English schools, then maybe the real issue may be the quality of education that's available. Or maybe people want to attend university in Quebec without necessarily living and working there afterward.

Also, pretty sure New Brunswick is also a French province; its an official language there.

[–] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Quebec is the only province where French is the only official language.

https://www.ledevoir.com/opinion/idees/800544/education-sous-financement-universites-francophones-est-mal-profond

The only way you can say funding is similar is if you ignore everything else but provincial funding (and even then it's close but English universities still get more per student). McGill is the richest university in Quebec with over a billion dollars in its purse, in the meantime the UQ is struggling to find enough money for the students it has.

Donating to one's Alma Mater isn't part of French Canadian culture like it is for Anglo Canadian's, there's a whole lot of historical reasons for that, but the point is, it's McGill that receives 200m$ from an ex student, not the French universities.

The tuition policy affects ALL universities, not just the English ones.

Sure, students should go to university for free, but that's another debate and that's an issue where Quebec can't be singled out. There's also very little reason to give free education to people who will then leave the province that educated them and that will therefore not pay taxes to reimburse what they cost the education system. Because let me remind you, education is a provincial responsibility.