Incensed by recent tuition increases, a number of SSMU execs organized a bus trip on Oct. 22 to Quebec City to protest tuition hikes outside of the Quebec Liberal Party Convention. This marks the latest in a series of protests that began over a year and a half ago, pitting Quebec residents against the provincial government.
Joël Pedneault, SSMU’s VP External Affairs, spoke on the significance of the organized rally.
“The Liberal Party [of Quebec] has proven to be the most anti-student government in history — they’ve cut financial aid, reduced bursaries and are now planning the largest tuition increase ever which increases students’ debt load and makes education after the secondary level less accessible,” Pedneault said.
In February of 2010, the Quebec Liberal government, led by Jean Charest, began to seriously consider tuition increases for students at Quebec universities. The increases, which are scheduled to take effect beginning in September 2012, will take the form of $325 increments annually over the next five years. The in-province tuition rate will increase, by a set rate each year, from $2,168 annually at present to $3,793 in 2017. Out-of-province and international tuition rates will also increase during this time, but to a lesser extent.
Quebec universities claim they are underfunded and will require either tuition increases or greater provincial funding to remain competitive with other Canadian universities. The Liberal Party of Quebec argues that it does not have the resources necessary to increase universities’ funding due to the budget deficit.
Both McGill and the provincial government maintain that the tuition increases are justified since tuition has not kept up with inflation and, even at $3,793 per year, tuition will still be lower than the fees charged outside of Quebec.
Students, on the other hand, are largely unhappy that the government is moving to an increasingly fee-based system. Many feel that low-income students will be harmed the most, which could lead to increased inequality of wealth in the province and a system where more and more students will graduate with burdensome student loans.
According to American student Alex Lacroix, U3 History, the protests against tuition hikes have repercussions outside of Quebec.
“People from outside of Quebec shouldn’t see this as a Quebec thing,” Lacroix said, likening the tuition increases to the Occupy Wall Street protests that are happening around the world. “The one per cent have way too much and now they’re taking funds from schools that used to be there. People in power have to be afraid of something happening before they actually do something.”
Another nationwide protest against tuition increases is set for Nov. 10.
