Quebec won’t yield on reforms despite financial hits to McGill, Concordia: Déry

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Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry on Friday sidestepped questions about the looming financial crisis that is expected to lead to tens of millions of dollars in cuts at McGill and Concordia universities.

The two English institutions have blamed Déry, citing the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s plan to overhaul tuition and funding and introduce new French proficiency requirements. The changes target McGill and Concordia.

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“I will not comment on any numbers, but what I’m going to say is that the measures are going forward,” Déry told reporters in Quebec City.

Quebec has imposed a 33-per-cent tuition hike on out-of-province students who study at English universities, beginning this fall.

Déry said new French requirements will go ahead as planned in 2025, with details still being worked out. English universities will receive “financial support” to implement the new policy, she added.

She said she could not comment further because the issue is before the courts.

McGill and Concordia are asking the Quebec Superior Court to cancel the policy changes, arguing they contravene the Canadian and Quebec charters of rights.

Déry was reacting to recent Gazette articles about the two English universities.

Concordia says enrolment will drop by almost 1,200 students and it will get four per cent less in government funding this fall even as it subsidizes French universities to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.

Concordia president Graham Carr has said the university must cut spending by $35.8 million in 2024-25, blaming Quebec’s policies for a growing deficit.

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The university is working on a plan to slash spending. It has imposed a hiring freeze and is “reviewing course and program offerings.”

McGill provost Christopher Manfredi has said that if his university doesn’t cut costs or raise revenue, it could face at least $91 million in cumulative losses and an annual deficit of $89 million by 2028.

The university has said it may sell real estate, suspend major infrastructure projects and consider “strategic enrolment growth” at international locations.

McGill says the situation will deteriorate further if the new French proficiency rules cause a drop in enrolment when they take effect, as both McGill and Concordia have warned might happen.

As of fall 2025, McGill and Concordia will be required to have 80 per cent of their undergraduate students from outside Quebec reach an intermediate level of French by graduation. Failure to meet the target will result in financial penalties for the universities.

McGill and Concordia say the French fluency rules could drive away many students from other provinces and countries. McGill has said students would be required to take an extra semester to improve their French.

Quebec’s university policy changes are part of Déry’s effort to increase funding for French universities and reduce the number of non-French speakers in Montreal’s post-secondary institutions.

The Legault government has complained too much English is being spoken on Montreal streets, with non-French-speaking students partly to blame.

ariga@postmedia.com

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