QESBA supports McGill and Concordia court challenges

Montreal, February 26, 2024 – The Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) is pleased that both McGill and Concordia have decided to challenge the government’s tuition hikes for students from other Canadian provinces.

The government of Quebec announced last fall that significant tuition hikes for Canadian students choosing to attend either McGill, Concordia or Bishop’s universities would be implemented for the 2024-2025 school year. The Legault government since rescinded the burden for Bishop’s University in the Eastern Townships but maintained the planned hikes for McGill and Concordia.

McGill and Concordia have tried to negotiate to maintain the status quo on tuition hikes with the government by offering a more robust French language training option with no cooperation from the Ministère de l’éducation supérieure or the premier.

“This is another unfortunate example of the unconscionable behaviour towards the English-speaking minority community in Québec by trying to decimate our institutions,” said Joe Ortona President.

We support McGill and Concordia and their decisions to pursue the tuition hike legally. We have learned over the last number of years that we need to avail ourselves of every avenue to ensure that our communities can continue to strive and grow in Québec. It’s imperative for our English institutions to protect and defend the rights and interests of our community,” concluded Joe Ortona, President of QESBA.

QESBA is the voice of English public education in Québec and represents 100,000 students in over 300 elementary, high schools, and adult and vocational centres across Québec.