Concordia, McGill University students set to strike against Quebec’s tuition hikes

Concordia University and McGill University students are once again planning to strike against the CAQ government’s plan to increase tuition for out-of-province students attending English universities.

Faculty associations have voted for a strike to take place next week, representing over 21,000 students.

Tuition is set to rise to roughly $12,000 from about $9,000 for out-of-province students next fall, except for Quebec’s only other English university — Bishop’s — which was exempted because it is outside Montreal.

Most striking students are in the faculty of arts and science, as well as the fine arts faculty and the faculty of engineering and computer science.

Many will opt out of class between March 11 and 15.

Student unions for both McGill and Concordia announced that there will be a demonstration against tuition hikes next Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the corner of Mackay and de Maisonneuve near Concordia’s Hall building.

“If our demands are still not being met, and the tuition hikes are still in effect, we will increase our mobilization and increase our pressure on the government,” said Hannah Jackson, the external and mobilization coordinator of the Concordia Student Union (CSU).

On social media, they say, “This is not just about us, it’s about future generations of students who deserve access to affordable education.”

The latest strike follows a one-day strike last November and a three-day strike in January.

Last month, McGill University and Concordia University announced they are suing the Quebec government over its decision to hike tuition for out-of-province students by about 30 per cent.

In separate lawsuits, the two Montreal universities say the government’s decision constitutes discrimination under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and that the hikes have damaged the schools’ reputations.

The Quebec government has defended the tuition hikes, saying that 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.

“There are many ways to put pressure on a government to make a change and some of the ways are through legal challenges,” said Jackson. “We really respect Concordia for deciding to take that on for us, but we also know that the legal challenge will take a very long time.”

“It will take probably about two years before we get a decision and students are threatened now, our universities are threatened now and that’s why we are continuing to use student power and our student voices as another tactic alongside things such as legal challenges.”