Quebec premier defends out-of-province tuition hike: ‘It’s reasonable’ | 24CA News
Quebec Premier François Legault says it’s necessary to him that McGill University stays in Quebec.
Legault made the touch upon Friday, a day after McGill principal and vice-chancellor Deep Saini mentioned the college wouldn’t rule out any choices to mitigate the affect of the federal government’s deliberate tuition hike for out-of-province college students, together with shifting a part of its operations elsewhere.
“McGill has been in Quebec for over 200 years now, our presence in Montreal, our relationship with Montreal our relationship to Quebec is a very distinctive feature of what McGill is,” Saini mentioned. “That said, as a university president I have the responsibility … to make sure that one of the greatest universities in the world remains one of the greatest universities in the world.”
In October, Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry introduced charges for Canadian college students from different provinces would soar from $8,992 to $17,000 beginning in fall 2024.
The authorities has defended the plan to double tuition charges for Canadians from different provinces, arguing the French language is below risk in Quebec, particularly in Montreal.
Saini spoke to reporters in Montreal on Thursday, outlining the dire financial penalties set in movement by the announcement.
He spoke of a ‘catastrophic’ 20 per cent drop in functions from out-of-province college students and an estimated lose of between $42 million and $94 million per yr.
The college may also be elevated borrowing prices if Moody’s downgrades its credit standing, which can result in ballooning prices for present and future infrastructure tasks.
Saini defined how the schooling hike will finally harm the Quebec financial system by threatening the college’s potential to draw traders.
The college has already introduced a hiring freeze to cap bills and warned of extra extreme impacts, except the federal government backs down.
That is one thing Legault doesn’t seem prepared to do.
“It’s important for me to keep McGill in Quebec and I think that what we are asking for is reasonable,” Legault mentioned Friday. “We have to stop seeing French going down in Montreal so we need their help. They are open to give French lessons so Pascale continues discussion with McGill and Concordia.”
McGill, nonetheless, says that the federal government has not proven a willingness to sit down down and have a critical dialogue.
Saini famous Thursday that the federal government has but to reply to a proposal submitted over a month in the past by the province’s three English-language universities relating to plans to make sure college students graduate with a data of French.
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