After making numerous media appearances denouncing the fact that her daughter is forced to study abroad to become a veterinarian, a woman from Bécancour in Center-du-Québec points out the government’s inaction.
Rachèle Tremblay has been trying to get help since the spring, when she was forced to emigrate to the Caribbean to fulfill her dream of becoming a veterinarian because her grades weren’t good enough to enter the veterinary medicine program at Saint-Hyacinthe. He was then suggested to complete his first year of study in St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean before returning to Quebec for his second year. However, the student’s transfer request was rejected even though she had an overall average of 98%.
Without a response to the open letter sent to Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry in May, the family turned to elected officials Donald Martel and Jean Boulet. “We cannot help Quebec students studying abroad” and “(…) unfortunately there are no alternatives” were the answers she would have received.
“We have not received a response from anyone, or the answers we have are very brief and inconclusive. No help or solution is offered. I’m experiencing a bit of discouragement at the moment. “I feel a little let down by my government,” Ms. Tremblay responded.
Ms. Groleau, the young woman’s mother, also denounces a “very discriminatory situation” while her daughter has to go into debt of $300,000 to complete her education. She explained that the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, where Rachèle Tremblay studies, has details of the financial support each province offers to complete her studies there, and that Quebec is the only province in Canada that does not offers such.
“If I was born in Alberta, I wouldn’t have a problem. I had about thirty thousand per session offered to me to complete my degree and I have nothing there,” Ms. Tremblay was disheartened.
She wants Quebec to create a pilot project that provides necessary financial support to veterinary students studying at Ross University. There are currently 14 Quebecers doing this.
“We know nothing exists. Can we do a pilot to support these 14 students at Ross University?” asks Ms. Groleau.
This does not take into account the fact that there is a shortage of veterinarians in Quebec. For this reason, the mother offers to help students who are pursuing their education abroad, because “opening places in Saint-Hyacinthe can be complicated”.
The President of the Order of Veterinarians of Quebec, Dr. Gaston Rioux, recalled that every year there are only 96 places for more than 1,000 applications for admission to the program. Additionally, 24 new positions will open in Rimouski in fall 2024, but Ms. Groleau says more needs to be done to help the province’s veterinarians.
Mother and daughter don’t want to give up and hope that their message will ultimately be heard by the decision-makers. Deputies Martel and Boulet preferred not to grant us an interview.