By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

Earlier this fall, Ireland Bassendowski was thrilled when she got into her first-choice university, Bishop’s University in Lennoxville. Then came the Quebec government’s announcement that tuition fees would double for Canadian students from outside the province. Bassendowski, an aspiring math teacher who lives in Dawson’s Creek, B.C. and whose family has a vacation home in Knowlton, is looking at British Columbia and Alberta schools. She now thinks she’ll do her degree outside of Quebec, despite the government’s decision, announced Dec. 16, to exempt Bishop’s from the tuition increase.

“When [my parents and I] heard tuition would go up, I started applying to other places and I actually found a program I liked better,” she said. In Quebec, she said, “things are just really unsure, and we can’t take that chance.”

“Ireland didn’t have a Plan B [other than Bishop’s], and after the policy change, we were forced to look at other places. We didn’t know whether it would be reversed, so we had to look at other places,” her mother, Diane Bassendowski, told the BCN. “The uncertainty worried us – what if she got to her second or third year and then they changed the policy again? Our hearts really go out to all of the kids in Grade 12 who are facing this turmoil.”

Ottawa high school student Jackie Evans said she has wanted to study at McGill University ever since she was little. More recently, the aspiring physicist has been drawn to a bachelor’s program there that integrates physics and philosophy. On a campus visit last year, she was “blown away” by the architecture and the feel of the campus. Her father, Aaron Evans, is a McGill grad and was “excited and happy” that his daughter was keen to attend his alma mater. However, since this fall, she’s been taking a closer look at programs at the University of Toronto and Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.

“I really enjoyed spending time in Montreal and studying at McGill; it’s a national treasure and highly regarded around the world,” Aaron Evans said. He called the government’s decision to double tuition fees for out-of-province students at McGill and Concordia “really disheartening.”

“Either they knew it would be crippling to [the English universities] and they did it anyway, or they didn’t, and they’re incompetent,” he said. Like the Bassendowski family, Aaron and Jackie Evans said they were concerned that a policy that would discourage enrolment would ultimately lead to a lower-quality student experience. “The extra tuition is not ideal, but our main concern is around the quality,” said Aaron Evans. “If we have these concerns, then other people have these concerns and it turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Both Jackie Evans and Ireland Bassendowski speak French and were looking forward to potentially attending school in a bilingual environment. Bassendowski said the experience of the past few months has changed her perception of the Quebec government but not of francophones or Quebecers at large. “I know it’s not the people’s fault,” she said.

Although they don’t keep data on why students refuse offers of admission, Bishop’s, McGill and Concordia have all expressed concerns that the uncertainty of the past few months, combined with the tuition increase for out-of-province students at McGill and Concordia, could have long-term knock-on effects. “We will not congratulate the government for limiting the damage to Bishop’s that [it] has itself caused. The incoherent policies will have a devastating effect on the Quebec economy and on the Quebec university network in general,” McGill media relations officer Keila DePape said in a statement.