Andrew McClelland

The Advocate

Staff at Macdonald Campus’ Farm Management and Technology program say their fall enrolment numbers are down slightly from last year, but that it’s still too early to determine if it’s a direct impact of Bill 96.

“Have our numbers gone down? Yes. This year, only 31 (students) instead of around 40 showed up on Day 1,” said Pascal Thériault, director of the FMT program. “How much of it is due to government policy? Hard to say.”

When the Quebec government introduced Bill 96, its update to the Charter of the French Language, it stipulated that students attending English CEGEPs would have to take five courses in French.

While FMT is run by McGill University’s Macdonald Campus, the program is considered a CEGEP-level offering. As such, explains Thériault, FMT is not affected by the controversial tuition hikes for out-of-province students in Quebec universities.

But the program is affected by Bill 96’s introduction of more French-language courses in English CEGEPs.

“The new language regulations might have had an impact and scared away a few students, but it is hard to put a number on it because our student numbers tend to vary from year to year,” Thériault said. “We had to turn away about six Ontario students whose French level would not have made it possible for them to meet the necessary French requirements.”

Bill 96’s new changes do not require that students have a certificate to attend an English institution. But they do impose a quota on the number of non-certificate holders. FMT is excluded from the quota as its students are considered McGill students.

“FMT is funded to train future Quebec farmers who are native English speakers,” Thériault said. “Our recruitment efforts have always been geared toward that clientele, whereas francophones attending the program have been a minority that is always welcome since we do value diversity it all its forms.”

Tuition hikes cause uncertainty

The other issue causing uncertainty at McGill’s Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is Quebec’s announcement of tuition hikes for out-of-province students.

When the Quebec government initially announced the tuition hike, it proposed an increase from $8,992 to approximately $17,000, causing an outcry from both the province’s English-speaking community and prospective students from the rest of Canada.

That increase has since been lowered to a minimum rate of $12,000, but with a catch: out-of-province students will need to be able to demonstrate a level-five oral proficiency (an ability to carry on a basic conversation) by the time they graduate.

The decision sent shockwaves through McGill’s recruiting department, says Valérie Orsat, acting dean for Macdonald Campus.

“The number of applications from Ontario significantly dipped,” Orsat said. “We had to reduce our recruiting activities in Ontario, as the feedback from their high schools was not positive: ‘If Quebec does not want us, we shall not apply.’”

Nonetheless, McGill’s Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is seeing a healthy enrolment. Admissions from Canadian high schools in the department are the same as last year’s.

“Overall, our incoming numbers for this fall for our B.Sc. or B.Eng. programs are similar to last year’s numbers,” Orsat said. “Although our applications from the rest of Canada were significantly lower than last year’s.”  

Everywhere in Canada, enrolment in agricultural programs at the post-secondary level is struggling. The fact that Mac has been able to maintain high enrolment numbers is exceptional.

“There is a general trend in ag colleges in Canada where numbers are not on the rise,” Thériault said. “That’s a concern, as I believe we must attract more people to the ag sector.”

Decreasing enrolment in agriculture education is a worrying sign for a variety of reasons, Thériault said.

“Training future farmers is one thing, but the FMT program also trains agricultural technologists who help farmers to make our agricultural sector more resilient, better prepared for climate change and to help them meet social expectations on issues such as pollution, pesticide use and animal welfare. There will be more and more need to offer support for those farmers in the future.”

Cutline:

FMT students at Macdonald Campus receive hands-on training.