Proposed Quebec tuition hike worries Ontario student leaders
Quebec universities, which have provided residents with post-secondary education for cheap, have come under fire for being underfunded.
According to the Globe and Mail, Former Parti Québécois premier Lucien Bouchard announced that the province needs to increase tuition fees in order to keep universities competitive on Feb. 16.
In Ontario, the Reaching Higher framework for funding post-secondary education will end this school year. The provincial government won't reveal the new framework until March, meaning there is currently no official tuition fees policy for next year.
Ryerson President Sheldon Levy said the situation in Quebec doesn't translate to anything happening in Ontario. Each province sets its own independent agenda, he said.
But Shelley Melanson, chairperson of Canadian Federation of Students Ontario, said she’s worried that Bouchard’s recent announcement is a result of Quebec taking a cue from Ontario's post-secondary funding, which she said is not working.
Among student organizers, Quebec is an “excellent example of how to make education completely accessible,” said Shelley Melanson, chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students Ontario.
Typical tuition in the province is about $1,600 a year.
Liana Salvador, vice-president education for the Ryerson Students' Union, said there has been a five per cent increase every year in tuition fees.
“We’re already in last place, and an increase is just going to widen the gap (between Ontario and the other provinces),” said Salvador.
Yet Alex Usher, president of Higher Education Strategy Associates, said he’s consistently noted that Quebec is not more accessible than other provinces. In fact, there are fewer students coming from poorer backgrounds, he said.
“Ontario is the only place where you have above average levels of university and college participation,” he said.
Usher said the conversation about funding cuts is not one started by Bouchard. Instead, it’s a response to Ontario’s economy, which is in “terrible fiscal shape.”
“Genuinely, we’re at a stage where it’s a choice between increasing tuition and watching institutional budgets get cut,” he said.
The issue isn’t raising fees, but whether “we have the right kind of policies to offset those costs for vulnerable students,” Usher said.
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