(Quebec) The Legault government is asking English-speaking universities to adopt a “more ambitious” francization plan in exchange for a less significant increase in tuition for students from other Canadian provinces.
Posted at 1:15 p.m.
La Presse announced on Wednesday that the Legault government would increase those fees by 33%, rather than virtually doubling them.
According to our information, the bill for students from the rest of Canada would ultimately rise from $9,000 to $12,000 per year in fall 2024. This scenario would soon be presented to the Council of Ministers, with the intention of announcing this next week.
The Legault government raised the ire of English-speaking universities when it announced in October that tuition fees would virtually double, reaching $17,000.
At a press briefing on Wednesday, the Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry, did not want to deny or confirm this information, which was also confirmed by other government sources.
“I will take stock in due course. “It’s important to me that we give students French skills and keep them stronger,” she said.
She is in talks with the rectors of English-speaking universities about the francization plan that they offered to Prime Minister François Legault at a meeting in his offices on November 6th. The principals have proposed Frenchizing at least 40% of their non-French-speaking students from the rest of Canada and abroad, particularly through the introduction of compulsory courses.
“The initiative does not go far enough,” said Pascale Déry. She would like “more concrete goals” and “more concrete measures”. “We are working on a more ambitious plan,” she added.
The presidents of McGill and Concordia have proposed introducing mandatory French as a second language courses and activities “within three.” However, according to our information, the government wants to implement these measures by 2025. She would also like to tie part of the universities’ funding to the implementation of the francization plan.
For PQ MP Pascal Bérubé, the Legault government is “about to reverse its measure on tuition fees for Canadian students” and is delaying the presentation of the expected action plan on the French language.
According to our information, Quebec intends to maintain the announced new prices for foreign students. He wants to set a minimum interest rate of $20,000, of which the government wants to collect $3,000.