Given the current ridiculously low prices, the truth is that a Canadian student comes to study alongside Quebecers. This windfall costs Quebec’s treasury $100 million each year to educate Canadian students.
It is therefore simply normal that the Quebec government wants to review the fee schedule for Canadian and foreign students at all universities, both French-speaking and English-speaking.
For example, why is McGill University outraged at the idea of charging $17,000 to Canadian students who come to study on its campus? At $17,000 for a year of undergraduate study at McGill, Canadian students still benefit significantly from a quality education at reduced fees compared to a foreign student who will spend between $19,505 and $55,621 to study at McGill, depending on the program of study -dollars per year must be paid.
It’s normal to pay what it costs
That Quebec has decided to keep tuition fees low for its population to offset a historic delay in graduation is one thing. It is a collective decision that we finance with our taxes. Whether Quebec chooses to open its doors to Canadians or to foreigners, and whether the latter pay the costs we pay for their education, that is the basis.
A question of public finances
So it is strange to hear the leaders of English-speaking universities expressing outrage at the fact that the Quebec government now wants to charge the fair cost of a university education in Quebec to people who have not contributed through their taxes to fund a quality university network have and affordable. Has Quebec become so rich that it has the means to fund students from other provinces at a discount? To ask the question is to answer it.
Aside from the cost to Quebec’s treasury, Montreal also suffers from its language. Remember that 82% of Canadian students choose to study in English. This flood of English-speaking students gathering at the gates of McGill and Concordia is having a real and documented impact on the French-speaking face of the metropolis. The English-speaking lobby is powerful, we hope the CAQ can resist it.
