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Striking ConU students and staff protest tuition hikes

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Photo Andraé Lerone Lewis

Iness Rifay
Local Journalism Initiative

On March 13, around 400 Concordia students, faculty and staff gathered on the corner of Mackay and De Maisonneuve Street to the sound of upbeat tunes, clanking pots and pans, and the croak of trombones and trumpets. 

On that same date, over 22,000 students across various student associations were on strike from their classes, with hard-picketing measures enforced all throughout the Hall building as well as on Loyola campus. The strike officially started on March 11 and is set to end by March 15. However, some departments have discussed an unlimited general strike.

Under the afternoon sun, volunteers coated Mackay with red paint reading “Free education” in light of the Coalition Avenir Québec imposed hikes, which exclusively target anglophone universities in the province. 

Dominik Séguin, one of the volunteers and a third-year student in the English literature program, believes the implementation of the hikes is only the first step in a series of other “discriminatory measures.” 

“What’s to stop [Premier François] Legault from making more laws that affect anglophones, or any other group?” said Séguin, while swiping her red-stained paintbrush on the concrete. “If people are leaving after their education, I can guarantee you it’s because they don’t feel welcome here.” 

Quebec’s minister of higher education Pascale Déry argues in favour of the hikes, saying that out-of-province students and international students leave the province after their studies and that the new increase “better reflects what it costs to educate a university student.” 

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Students voice concerns over Quebec’s newest financial barriers

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Graphic Sara Salsabili

Safa Hachi
Local Journalism Initiative

In the echoing halls of McMaster University, Nathalie White, a fourth-year psychology student, saw her grad school ambitions clouded by the news of a tuition increase, emphasizing the intersection of academic dreams with financial barriers.

“I had a list of graduate schools that I wanted to apply to next year,” said White. “I initially heard about the tuition increase briefly on the news and was immediately disheartened. I knew that I could simply not afford tuition fees.” 

“This may be a bit jaded, but it seems like they’re saying you’re not welcome unless you can afford it. I understand wanting to preserve French culture […] but that just means that whoever has the money can come,” she added. 

On Oct.13, Coalition Avenir Québec’s (CAQ) Minister of Higher Education Pascale Déry disclosed that the province intended to increase tuition fees for students from outside of Quebec. The new cost would rise from $8,992 to approximately $17,000 per year, starting fall 2024. Additionally, an established minimum tuition of $20,000 per year was stipulated for international students. For those who are already enrolled, they must remain in their current program for a maximum of five years, rendering deferrals and part-time studies more complicated.

This tuition hike hits Quebec’s English universities the hardest—Concordia, Bishops and McGill. Despite claims from Dery stating, “I’m not closing the door to any anglophone student,”  doubling out-of-province tuition undeniably imposes limitations.

Quebec French-language Minister Jean-François Roberge expressed in an interview with La Presse that, “We’re fed up with managing the decline, protecting the language, curbing the erosion of the language; these are all defensive terms. It’s time to regain some ground.”

In May 2022, Québec’s National Assembly passed Bill 96. The bill is designed to bolster the use of French in the province. The law spawned various initiatives, including Francisation Québec. Introduced by the CAQ on June 1, 2023, this initiative aims to centralize French learning services for immigrants, contributing to Quebec’s needs through temporary or permanent candidate selection, according to information taken from the Quebec government’s website.

During their first six months in Quebec, new immigrants are entitled to services in English. However, after this period, they are expected to handle services in French as effortlessly as resident speakers. This is despite the fact that the government’s own internal report on the feasibility of the acquisition of French within a six-month timeframe deemed it nearly impossible.

According to Julia Balot, a McGill student, there seems to be a lack of clarity between citizens and the government in regards to what Quebec is aiming to achieve. 

“It really makes me feel unwelcome here, especially by the government. Which is weird, because my day-to-day interactions with [Quebec-born francophones] tend to be pretty positive,” said Balot. “I’m happy to be able to go to a school like McGill […] but I definitely worry that the culture on campus might change. Amplifying this division between anglophones and francophones seems like a step in the wrong direction.” 

Students with a French citizenship or a francophone Belgian citizenship will be able to avoid the tuition increase. However, many Middle Eastern and North African international students speak French, but are subject to pay international fees. Yasmina May Hafiz, an international student from Morocco, called out the Quebec government’s double standard when it comes to French-speaking immigrants.

“I am already paying $24,000 a year,” Hafiz said.  

Hafiz comes from a country colonized by France, where French is a major part of her life. She speaks it fluently, both back home and here. 

“So why can’t I get lower tuition rates like French or Belgian citizens?” she continued.  “I moved here, pay rent here, work here, speak French here, I add to the so-called fortification of French, but I am no longer a desirable immigrant because I am North African,” she added.

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Out-of-province tuition hikes spell trouble for Stingers, Redbirds, Martlets, Gaiters

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Sami Jahan dribbles past a McGill player during their Nov. 11 game. Photo Alice Martin

Jared Lackman-Mincoff
Local Journalism Initiative

After the Quebec government announced its tuition hikes for international and out-of-province students, varsity directors and coaches at Concordia University, McGill and Bishop’s can see out-of-province recruitment troubles on the horizon. Non-Quebec students make up a considerable proportion of the student-athletes at all three universities.

Hamilton, Ont. native Sami Jahan, one of the foremost members of the Concordia Stingers men’s basketball team, said that his university career would have looked much different if the tuition hikes had happened when he was choosing where to study.

“Looking at the kids who are in my shoes, whether they’re playing sports or even just trying to go to school out-of-province […] their landscape is going to change a lot,” he said. Jahan is a fourth-year veteran with the Stingers. The team’s impressive 2021-22 playoff run would not have been possible without him.

Jahan believes that varsity coaches will shift more of their recruitment focus towards CEGEPs. He feels that recruiting talent from out-of-province will be less beneficial for Quebec’s English universities, since they will be able to get four Quebec kids on a scholarship for the same price as one out-of-province recruit.

He emphasized that the tuition hike itself is not the only expense out-of-province students must consider.

“When you leave the province, your family has to put you in some type of residence or living situation. That’s another fee. Food is another thing. It just piles on,” he said. “If I was looking at schools in Canada and I saw Quebec’s tuition hike, my family would be like, ‘That doesn’t make financial sense when you can stay here.’”

The Stingers’ winter sports rosters put them in the best position of the three English universities. Only 20.8 per cent of the hockey and basketball rosters is composed of out-of-province and international students—whose tuition could increase by a minimum of $20,000. Non-Quebec recruits makeup 49.4 per cent of McGill’s hockey and basketball rosters, and 43.1 per cent for Bishop’s. 

Deep Saini, principal and vice-chancellor of McGill, estimated that one third of McGill’s student-athletes hail from another province. Director of Athletics at Bishop’s Matt McBrine told La Tribunethat he believes that number to be nearly 50 per cent for his institution. Most notably, 86.7 per cent of the Bishop’s Gaiters women’s soccer team comes from another province or country. Both schools fear that they will need to eliminate some varsity teams due to the hike.

Coaches at Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s had considerable advantages over their francophone counterparts when it came to recruiting out-of-province and international students, but the hike will nullify them completely.

“We’re able to recruit from out west because it’s an English institution […] and the price […] was similar to other universities,” said Marc-André Elément, head coach of the Stingers men’s hockey team. “But now with the increase, it’s going to be another game, and it’s going to be really hard to recruit from outside Quebec, that’s for sure.”

The Stinger’s men’s hockey team only has two non-Quebec players on the roster. However, the program still faces the same obstacles as others that are more dependent on out-of-province recruitment.

“It’s a bit frustrating because we have such good programs,” said Elément. “A lot of guys from [other parts] of the country […] want to come and study here because it’s a good school and everything and now we’re taking that away.”

Elément and his staff are working to find a new recruitment strategy, but they do not see a clear solution right now.

The tuition hikes could potentially create a ripple effect on the rest of the province if English varsity programs become less formidable competition or get wiped out entirely.

“It will also have an impact on Quebec sports infrastructure, something that people tend to forget,” McBrine told La Tribune in French. “If you have three universities—McGill, Concordia and Bishop’s—who are in several sports leagues, and can no longer compete, it will have an impact on every sport.”

Women’s hockey and football are set to receive a big punch. The three English schools make up 50 per cent of the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) women’s hockey conference, and Concordia and McGill form two out of five RSEQ football teams. McBrine agreed with this notion, telling La Tribune that he doubts that three francophone university programs would offer high caliber competition.

The English schools additionally form three out of seven RSEQ teams for men’s and women’s rugby. But the situation is most dire for basketball, where the trio comprises three out of five Quebec programs for men’s and women’s hoops.

If Quebec teams are no longer fit to compete against each other, then the remaining teams may need to move to the Ontario University Athletics or Atlantic University Sport conferences to maintain a high enough level of competition for varsity play.

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CSU hosts town hall to discuss proposed Quebec tuition hikes

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CSU hosted a town hall for students to discuss tuition hikes. Photo Catriona Ray

Catriona Ray
Local Journalism Initiative

On Oct. 26, the Concordia Student Union (CSU) hosted a town hall to discuss the tuition hikes recently proposed by the Quebec government.

The event was held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and was led by CSU General Coordinator Harley Martin, CSU Academic Coordinator Alexandrah Cardona. In attendance on the panel were also Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) Mobilization Coordinator Lily Charette, and School of Community and Public Affairs member  Adam Semergian. The event covered a variety of student concerns, with a particular focus on what student mobilization on this issue may look like in the coming months.

The proposed tuition hikes would force out-of-province students to pay a minimum of $17,000 per semester. In addition, universities will have to pay $20,000 to the government per international student enrolled.  Most importantly, the Quebec government would expect institutions to charge above the minimum to make up for any potential losses—out-of-province and international students could end up paying closer to $30,000 per year minimum as admissions drop. Additionally, while these measures would not initially affect students who are already enrolled, actions like a degree or faculty change may force an already-enrolled student to pay higher prices.

Semergian, kicked off the event with a brief history of the student movement in Quebec, which has been active since as early as the 1960s. 

“A very common thread in all of this has been for free tuition or to end tuition hikes,” said Semergian. The largest of these movements took place in 2012 when province-wide tuition increases were protested by students from both francophone and anglophone campuses. Student strikes lasted for months and eventually forced the government to rescind their proposal for higher tuition.

“For years there has been a fight in Quebec for free education,” said Cardona. “This tuition increase is just another wave in the government trying to combat that movement.”

Semergian also cautioned against the possibility of student division. “Remember that just because right now [the tuition hikes] don’t affect in-province students […] this is probably just a preamble to something that would affect everybody.”

Charette agreed. “It’s very intentional that these increases in tuition are being done in a way that brings in language politics,” she said. “It deeply confuses the situation and is going to create so many rifts between communities […] They’re hoping to divide the student movement in Quebec.”

Furthermore, tuition increases have wide-ranging impacts on Concordia as an institution. Cardona told students, “Concordia is projecting, on the conservative side, that we would lose enrollment by up to 60 per cent […] Funding-wise, Concordia would be looking at losing upwards of tens of millions of dollars per year.”

Cardona also pointed out that programs that attract mostly out-of-province students will be disproportionately affected. Fine arts, including studio arts— as well as the aerospace and engineering programs—are looking at especially devastating losses.

“This is a first step in trying to coordinate our actions,” said Charette. Going forward, large unions like the CSU and ASFA are looking to smaller, department-level student associations to make their voices heard. According to Charette, because a general assembly to vote on a strike mandate for the CSU would require upwards of 450 students to appear in-person and vote, smaller student associations have a better chance of getting mobilization started in earnest.

While this may sound intimidating, student associations certainly wouldn’t be working alone. Cardona assured students that the CSU intends to assist with coordination, funding, and communication going forward. Additionally, according to Becca Wilgosh, who represented CREW-CSN, most of Concordia’s labour unions are nearing the end of their negotiations with the university, which would allow them to legally strike. “This is a key moment for solidarity between labour unions and student unions,” she said.

A full-on student strike is likely impossible, however, until at least the winter semester. This is due to scheduling and communication constraints. In the meantime, Cardona encouraged students to get acquainted with their department-level student associations and agitate for action against the tuition hikes.

“The more students say, ‘Why aren’t we striking about this? We should do this,’ [it] gives more power to us to start planning and coordinating those kinds of actions,” Charette said.

The CSU is now endorsing a protest on Monday, Oct. 30. It is set to begin in Dorchester Square at 1 p.m., and students will march to McGill’s Roddick Gates. There is also a teach-in on the history of the Quebec student movement on Nov. 16, as well as a petition available on CSU social media this week to bring this issue before the National Assembly.

A previous version of this article stated that the townhall was organized by the CSU, ASFA and La Crues. The townhall was organized solely by the CSU. In addition, Adam Semergian was named as an executive of La Crues. However, he is a member of the School of Community and Public Affairs. The Link regrets these errors. 

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