Students from Concordia University are rallying in front of the Quebec minister of higher education’s Montreal office Wednesday afternoon in the wake of tuition hikes imposed on out-of-province and international students in anglophone universities.
The protesters are asking that Pascale Déry step down from her role. They painted “Déry démissionne” in big red letters on the pavement outside her office.
In a press release, the group ‘Students Against Tuition Hikes For Free Tuition,’ is calling the tuition hike “ineffective and extreme measures for francization.”
The Quebec government plans to increase fees at Concordia and McGill from roughly $9,000 to $12,000. This is despite an expert committee recommending against it earlier this year.
The students have been mobilizing since the fall of 2023. A protest was held in October and was followed by a one-day strike in November, a three-day strike at the end of January, and most recently, a week-long strike which united around 30,000 students in March.
The Quebec government has defended the tuition hikes, saying they were imposed, in part, because there are too many people who speak English in Montreal.
Both Concordia and McGill have said they’ve recorded significant drops in applications since Quebec announced the tuition hike in October and have warned it could trigger a steep drop in enrolment and devastate their finances.
“The Concordia Student Union (CSU) and the Student Society of McGill University (SSMU) have made many calls to the government. These unions recognize the importance of francization measures, but refuse to accept the CAQ’s draconian terms. The consultation of students whilst creating policy is crucial if the current government wishes to rebuild a relationship with the population it claims to represent.”
– With files from CityNews Montreal’s Anastasia Dextrene