Maudite McGill – renewed criticism about funding for English-language universities

What We Choose To Remember

There is renewed grumbling in Quebec about English-language universities have ‘too much money’ and an unfair advantage over French-language universities

 In the wake of Bill 96, we are once again hearing grumbling about Anglo universities and CEGEPs having too much money and too many students. Economist Pierre Fortin wrote an analysis in L’Actualité (Riches universités Anglophones) about the ‘unequal distribution’ of funds between Quebec’s universities. The three Anglo universities (McGill, Concordia and Bishop’s) have larger per capita budgets than all of the French-language universities. This is surprising, but is it a problem?

“Economist Pierre Fortin wrote an analysis in L’Actualité … about the ‘unequal distribution’ of funds between Quebec’s universities. The three Anglo universities … have larger per capita budgets than all of the French-language universities. This is surprising, but is it a problem?”

In 1969 the McGill Français protest called for urgent and decisive action although the root problem was complex. Until the 1960s Quebec’s education system was abysmal, which the Quiet Revolution attributed to the power and priorities of the Catholic Church. In 1964 Quebec created a secular Ministry of Education to prepare youth for the space age and it required all children to attend school until the age of 15. That single measure greatly increased the number of young people who obtained high school diplomas. In 1967 Quebec created the CEGEP system (Collège d’enseignement général et professionnel) and record numbers of students continued their education adventure.   

By 1969 the demand for university enrollment among Quebec’s francophone population exceeded available places by 20,000 students. What do we want?  Education! When do we want it?  Now! One hot-headed solution to the shortage was to stage a hostile takeover of McGill University. If René Lévesque had nationalised ‘foreign-owned’ power companies to create Hydro Québec why not nationalize the ‘foreign’ university in the heart of Montreal and give it to the people? Wiser heads created the Université du Québec network, including UQAM, which began operating in 1969 and has been a tremendous success story.

Fortin revealed that the unequal source of university revenue mostly comes from foreign students who pay elevated ‘foreign student’ tuition. He admits that the Anglo universities are playing by the rules and simply benefitting from the natural demand for their services. Nonetheless, he urged the Ministries of Immigration and Enseignement supérieur et de la Langue française to have a ‘serious conversation‘ about the ‘political consequences’ of two major problems: the disparity of economic resources between English and French universities, and the number of non-Francophone graduates who decide to stay in Quebec.

“ Fortin’s second point of concern is that foreign students may choose to live in Quebec after graduation.”

Is it bad for Quebec to receive money from foreigners? Is this a general principle or does it only apply to education?  I have never heard anyone complaining that major tourism events like the Grand Prix or Montreal’s International Jazz Festival bring in too many foreigners and foreign dollars. In fact the multiplier effect of those tourist dollars has been their recipe for success.   

Bill 96 has pushed us into new territory although it is starting to feel disturbingly familiar to those of us old enough to remember the turmoil of the 60s and 70s. If we extend the logic of ‘unfair advantage’  beyond the gates of McGill we see that Montreal’s International Jazz Festival has an ‘unfair advantage’ over Les Francos de Montréal because jazz artists are often ‘international’ and appeal more to English-speaking tourists from Canada and the USA than a festival celebrating French culture. Should the CAQ government change the rules to correct the ‘economic disparity’ by transferring the Jazz Festival’s excess revenues to Les Francos?  Should Quebec impose quotas on foreign music fans?  Closing the gates to foreigners would do little or nothing to increase the consumption of French-language culture but lopping the head off a tall poppy can be satisfying to a certain type of nationalist.

Universities are not the same as festivals. Foreign students pay tuition, pay rent, pay for goods and services, and they can provide cheap labour for restaurants and boutiques. The advantage of foreign students is multifold but Fortin’s second point of concern is that they may choose to live in Quebec after graduation. He creates a problem by presuming foreign students will never make the effort to learn French. This is nonsense. Perhaps he means they will not learn to speak French with the same fluency and accent as the majority, but in most cases their children will. The naturalization of immigrants is a long-game. It takes more than six months.

“Bill 96 has pushed us into new territory although it is starting to feel disturbingly familiar to those of us old enough to remember the turmoil of the 60s and 70s.”

In 1969 Quebec realized the innovative solution was to create a university network that benefits students in every region of Quebec. Similar solutions are possible now, for example helping migrants (including foreign students) to learn French. This would be much better for Quebec than ensuring tourists and foreign students have a bad experience here and never want to return. The narrow, vindictive spirit of Bill 96 is drawn to solutions that benefit no one as long as the wrong people, speaking the wrong language, are denied ‘unfair advantages.’

Guy Rex Rodgers was founding Executive Director of the English Language Arts Network (ELAN) and recently returned to filmmaking. You can reach Guy at: [email protected]