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Quebec to raise university fees and mandate French for out-of-province students (www.bbc.com)

submitted 11 months ago by alphacyberranger@sh.itjust.works to c/world@lemmy.world

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[-] Windows2000Srv@lemmy.ca 99 points 11 months ago

Something that people should keep in mind is that the fees were lower for those "out-of-province" students in Québec than in their own province.

This fee raise basically brings it on par with what they would pay in their on province. One of the reasoning behind this law is that Québec shouldn't be subsidizing other provinces way too expensive university system.

If you are living in Québec, university fees are quite cheap, and this doesn't change.

The French vs English aspect is widely talked about, but not a whole lot is mentioned about the actual price hike.

[-] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 17 points 11 months ago

The total fees for out of province students will still be lower than for out of province students in other provinces.

The fees for international students will still be lower than the fees for international students in other provinces.

In the only province where French is the only official language, French universities received less financing than English universities no matter the source, including from the provincial government. Donating to one's Alma Mater isn't part of the French Canadian culture for a ton of historical reasons, that leads to an university like McGill getting 200m$ from a single ex student and having over a billion sleeping in its coffers while the Université du Québec en Outaouais barely manages to offer basic services to its students.

Is it such a bad thing that the government asks that foreign students integrate themselves by learning the local language? That's an incentive for them to stay and it prevents the issue of having some of them stay without being able to speak the language, pretty much forcing them to live in one of three urban areas and their suburbs (Montreal, Gatineau, Sherbrooke).

[-] Marsupial@quokk.au 6 points 11 months ago

Imagine calling your fellow countrymen foreigners.

[-] dlpkl@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

That's just a taste of how badly Quebec's nationalists try to create a rift. But they'll be the first to turn around and tell you that Anglos are the problem.

Cambridge dictionary definition of foreign: belonging or connected to a country that is not your own.

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[-] rivermonster@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

Is it federally legal for to discriminate based on language? Don't know, don't live there, really curious, though.

Or is this one if those things that have to be adjudicated in the courts?

[-] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 10 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

The law states that English universities can take in whoever they want, 80% must finish their degree having reached conversational level in French otherwise English universities will lose part of their funding (when they're the universities that are the richest in the province).

That's not language discrimination, that's just bad journalism.

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[+] Stamets@lemmy.world 22 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

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[-] ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca 15 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

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[-] stevehobbes@lemmy.world 22 points 11 months ago

France has a whole host of laws to keep France French as well.

Quebec and Montreal are wonderful because they’re so different and yet so close.

It’s hard for me to hold a grudge against them for that. It’s not like they’re saying you must speak French to go to school there - they’re just saying you have to try to learn French if you want to go to school there.

[-] cyborganism@lemmy.ca 7 points 11 months ago

Exactly. The goal is to enable systems from out of province to better integrate the francophone society in the end.

[-] Windows2000Srv@lemmy.ca 8 points 11 months ago

This government (CAQ) has done many xenophobic thing. Restricting access to services in foreign languages to accommodate new immigrants is probably the best example of that. But this university thing, I don't think it is. Most of the time, if you go and follow and Bachelor's degree in another country, then you have to learn the language of that country because not every class is given in English only (of course there's exceptions, but most of the time it's like that). And you have to pay a hefty premium to go and educate yourself abroad.

This situation is way different, studying at university of Toronto is 16 000$ if you are from Ontario and 17 000$ if you are from another province. So it was often cheaper for people to go and study in Québec. This fee raise doesn't have anything to do with xenophobia or anything, this is merely bring the prices to the "market value". Yes there's a bit of language protectionism, but it's not all that inconvenient, and as someone already said, just trying to learn French is probably sufficient to get around it.

In short, I agree that there is xenophobic things that happens in Québec. I agree this provincial government doesn't have a great track record on that front. But this change isn't motivated by xenophobia, but other reasons. Up to you to decide if they're valid or not in your opinion.

[-] cyborganism@lemmy.ca 5 points 11 months ago

Speaking of xenophobia, you should look in the mirror.

Quebec trying to protect its francophone cultural heritage in a whole anglophone continent with so much American cultural influences through media, music and the internet is not xenophobic. It's actually even a problem that other countries outside North America are facing.

In really sick and tired of the discrimination of Quebec and French Canadians coming from people like you who twist everything to fit their racist narrative.

The only reason you're so mad is that you can't come live a life here speaking the only language you know, English, and it pisses you off that you have to learn a second language. You simply wish the the French Canadians would finally just all fold over, speak English and the whole French Canadian culture to disappear so it could stop be an inconvenience to you. I think THAT'S pretty xenophobic, actually.

[-] ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Je suis bilingue. Ma mère est francophone et je vis à Gatineau depuis 7 ans. Il n'y a que les francophone du Québec qui s'énervent quand je dis "bonjour hi".

[-] cyborganism@lemmy.ca 7 points 11 months ago

Y'a personne qui s'énerve pour ça réellement.

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[-] cyborganism@lemmy.ca 6 points 11 months ago

Pour revenir à ton commentaire, Peut-être qu'il y en a quelques uns qui vont s'énerver, mais certainement pas autant qu'il y a des anglophones ailleurs au Canada qui grimpent dans les rideaux dès qu'on mentionne le fait français au Canada et au Québec. Ce fil de discussion en est un très bel exemple.

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[-] stevehobbes@lemmy.world 12 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I’ve only ever really been to Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Canadian Niagara Falls. Montreal is fun and different, Toronto is like a baby NYC, Vancouver was cool but just ok. I’d go back to Montreal before I went back to any of the other places. Except in winter.

[-] twistypencil@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago

First person I've ever heard say they don't want to live in Montreal, sounds like someone from Alberta

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[-] FarraigePlaisteach@kbin.social 4 points 11 months ago

All I know about Quebec is that they have several First Nations there. Why is a foreign language be mandated over those?

[-] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 8 points 11 months ago

Foreign?

The official language in Quebec is French.

[-] GiveMemes@jlai.lu 19 points 11 months ago

I think he understands that and is calling the French colonists foreigners to the native first nations peoples...

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[-] autotldr@lemmings.world 4 points 11 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The Canadian province of Quebec is introducing a plan that will hike tuition fees and mandate French proficiency for its out-of-province university students.

In a letter published on Thursday, Quebec's higher education minister Pascale Déry said tuition for out-of-province students would increase from C$9,000 ($6,700; £5,200) to C$12,000 a year.

The 33% rise is smaller than what the province had originally proposed in October, which was to double the tuition fees for students from the rest of Canada.

The province will also require that 80% of students from outside Quebec reach an intermediate level of French by the time they graduate, and universities would face financial penalties if that target is not met.

Mr Saini added his university had not ruled out moves like opening another campus outside of Quebec or filing a potential lawsuit.

Concordia University President Graham Carr told the Montreal Gazette that he believed the plan would lead to a drop in the number of students, and would damage Quebec's reputation.

The original article contains 429 words, the summary contains 164 words. Saved 62%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

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this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2023

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