Quebec rejects offer to not raise tuition for McGill, Concordia students
CTV
The Quebec government is rejecting a proposal from McGill and Concordia universities that would keep tuition fees for out-of-province students the same starting next fall.
The Quebec government is rejecting a proposal from McGill and Concordia universities that would keep tuition fees for out-of-province students the same starting next fall.
The proposal would have made French-language courses mandatory for undergraduate students in exchange for the government backtracking on its plan to double tuition for non-Quebec students.
But just hours after Premier François Legault and his minister of higher education, Pascale Déry, met with all three English universities Monday, the government said their offer isn't good enough.
On Monday afternoon, Déry's office released a statement saying the offer was "a step in the right direction," but didn't say whether or not Quebec would accept it. It did say, however, that the government would make an exception for Bishop's University.
"We're staying the course on our measures, but we're going to find a specific solution for Bishop's. We see the francization efforts in a positive light; for us, they're complimentary," read a statement from her office.
When asked by CTV News later in the evening if the minister is closing the door on maintaining the current tuition fees for McGill and Concordia universities, her press attache said, "yes," adding that the plan to offer more French courses was not enough to reverse course.
McGill and Concordia could not be immediately reached for comment Monday evening.
