The Quebec-wide student “strike” is certainly gaining momentum, as more and more student associations vote to join the movement and voice their opposition to the provincial government’s plan to increase tuition. More than 120,000 students will be officially “on strike” (or boycotting classes) as of this week and the confrontation between the Liberal government and the student movement is heating up. Last Thursday a protest in front of the National Assembly in Quebec City ended in clashes with the police, and with more demonstrations planned for this month tensions look set to keep rising.
Anti-tuition activists are hoping that the government will back down before students have to make any real sacrifices, such as losing an entire semester. The mass mobilization of students has previously forced the provincial government to back down over tuition hikes. Yet the Charest government seems determined to face down the opposition and go through with its plan, which would raise tuition by $325 a year over five years.
While loud and visible protests draw attention to the issue and put public pressure on the government, the student movement must demonstrate a willingness to make actual sacrifices if it is to have any hope of forcing the Liberals to back down. If they know that students aren’t willing to continue their boycott through the end of the year, giving up at least an entire academic semester, they simply need to endure the demonstrations and wait until the boycott fizzles out.
The Charest government is remaining resolute, at least publicly, and for the first time the willingness of students to give something up for the fight against tuition hikes may actually be tested.
The numbers of students joining the boycott and attending demonstrations is certainly impressive, yet it’s unclear how united these students are over the prospect of making tangible sacrifices. Beyond a core group of anti-tuition student activists, how many students would be willing to lose this academic semester to continue a fight they may not even win? Many graduating students especially have little incentive to stay the course. They will not be affected by the tuition increases and have much more to lose from a delayed or lost semester.
Additionally, the level of commitment to the cause varies among the provinces universities, colleges, and CEGEPs. McGill, with a larger share of international and non-Quebec Canadian students (for whom the hikes represent a smaller proportional increase in their tuition), and a student body traditionally more disconnected from provincial politics, looks set to stay on the sidelines. The Arts Undergraduate Society’s General Assembly next Tuesday will be a major test of McGill students’ desire to join the boycott. If a strike vote is not passed, the effort may move to the department level, and the numbers of McGill students boycotting classes will remain relatively insignificant.
The activists’ challenge is to keep Quebec students as unified as possible. They must keep a large number of students from a broad selection of universities, colleges, and CEGEPs committed to the boycott and willing to make actual sacrifices, and they keep up the public demonstrations. This is no easy task, and there’s no doubt the provincial government has the upper hand at the moment. If the boycott splutters out, the credibility of the student movement will be called into question. Future governments will know that all they have to do is out-wait the students, who are not willing to give anything up. It may be a tad melodramatic to ask, but could this be the anti-tuition movement’s last stand?
