(Quebec) Quebec’s English-speaking universities have offered Prime Minister François Legault to Frenchize at least 40% of their non-French-speaking students from the rest of Canada and abroad, including through the introduction of compulsory courses.
Published at 2:27 p.m.
In return, they want his government to abandon the doubling of tuition fees for students from other provinces and the new pricing for foreign students.
The presidents of McGill, Concordia and Bishop’s universities met with François Legault at his offices in Montreal late Monday morning.
They presented him with a proposal to convince the government to move away from its new pricing model announced on October 13th.
Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry intends to increase tuition fees for Canadian students who do not live in Quebec from $9,000 to $17,000 at the start of the next school year, which would be equivalent to $110 million. She wants to set the minimum rate for foreign students at $20,000, an amount from which the government plans to collect $3,000. The amounts collected would be used to increase funding for French-speaking universities. These measures are part of the government’s action plan on the future of the French language.
The three English-speaking universities condemn this decision and predict a decline in the number of foreign students. According to their principals, the survival of Bishop’s is at stake, while under “cautious scenarios” McGill and Concordia could suffer combined losses of more than 100 million.
“We also recognize that the French language remains under threat in Quebec, particularly in Montreal, and reaffirm that all universities are the government’s natural allies in the protection, promotion and influence of the French language in Quebec and elsewhere in the world are”, we can read in their proposal obtained by La Presse.
“It is important to protect the French language; We are deeply convinced of this. However, we believe that it is better to French students coming from outside Quebec upon their arrival here, rather than immediately excluding them through a prohibitive pricing policy,” we add.
Therefore, “Quebec’s English-speaking universities will work to improve the linguistic and cultural integration of their non-French-speaking students.” They are committed to implementing “a range of new initiatives to promote the French language and improve knowledge of Quebec society.”
“Among these new initiatives, the Universities of Concordia and McGill, in recognition of Montreal’s linguistic diversity, commit to introducing compulsory French as a second language courses and activities within three years to effectively support professional integration in the metropolis.” » A student who takes such a compulsory course during their working life would have to pass it in order to receive their diploma, according to the information we received.
“In collaboration with the Government of Quebec,” we add, “English-speaking universities are also committed to significantly expanding the offering of French as a second language courses for Canadian non-resident students and non-French-speaking international students.” and to create new incentives for learning French. »
“Of course, the goal is ambitious, but it shows a firm will: to ensure that at least 40% of non-French-speaking students enrolled in undergraduate courses reach French level 6 on the Quebec scale, which corresponds to a B2 level .” the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages upon receipt of their diploma.” Level 6 is the intermediate level of intermediate French knowledge on the 12-level scale.
To achieve this goal, English-speaking universities propose to introduce “significant incentives” “in collaboration with the government,” such as scholarships to reward students who “manage to officially certify this level of proficiency in the French language.”
Universities agree to expand the range of French as a second language courses adapted to students’ abilities, increase the number of internships in French, develop initiatives to ensure success in professional examinations and entry into the Labor market to organize activities to promote Quebec culture.
They are calling on the government to maintain the status in pricing for non-Quebec Canadian students ($9,000). They also call for the abandonment of the new pricing system for foreign students and “the implementation of alternative solutions to balance the funding of universities.” […] to ensure they are sustainable and equitable for the entire network.”