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Our choice is about defending who we’re as an anglo college. It is also about demonstrating that the federal government didn’t act fairly.
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After months of unsuccessfully making an attempt to interact the federal government of Quebec in real, evidence-based dialogue about tuition charges for out-of-province and worldwide college students, Concordia College has determined to provoke authorized proceedings in opposition to the measures. Sadly, we’re left with no different different.
This choice is actually not about attacking our authorities. We agree that enhancements to the funding components for universities are wanted, given the continual underfunding of your complete Quebec college sector.
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Neither is our authorized recourse about pulling again from Concordia’s robust dedication to francization. Quite the opposite, that dedication predates the federal government’s announcement on tuition charges, and we additional strengthened our help in November when, with the opposite anglophone universities, we declared a standard goal to assist 40 per cent of non-francophone undergraduates attain intermediate French proficiency earlier than they graduate.
At its core, our choice to provoke authorized proceedings is about defending who we’re as an anglophone college, pleased with our range, accessibility, autonomy and repair to Quebec. Additionally it is about demonstrating that the federal government didn’t act responsibly or fairly in unilaterally imposing the tutoring modifications.
Concordia is a traditionally English establishment, with roots courting again to the nineteenth century via our two founding establishments, Loyola School and Sir George Williams College. On the identical time, right this moment’s Concordia serves all our society — anglophone, francophone, allophone, Indigenous — with almost 70 per cent of our college students coming from inside Quebec.
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Our authorized argument asserts that, due to Concordia’s standing as a key establishment of the linguistic minority in Quebec, the federal government had the duty beneath regulation to weigh the pursuits and safety of the anglophone neighborhood when modifying its tuition coverage. Put merely, the federal government had to make sure that any change in coverage wouldn’t trigger undue hurt to Concordia as an establishment of the English-speaking neighborhood.
The federal government failed in its obligations by implementing disruptive tuition insurance policies that solely apply to, and disproportionately have an effect on, Concordia and McGill (which is submitting a separate lawsuit), in distinction to francophone universities. On a number of events, members of the federal government had been very clear that the insurance policies had been designed to inflict hurt on our establishments by lowering the variety of college students attending our universities, altering our demographic profiles, shrinking our revenues and weakening our monetary positions.
Regrettably, the failure of the federal government to steadiness its acknowledged goals with the rights of the English-speaking neighborhood and its establishments in implementing the brand new tuition insurance policies is an element of a bigger sample of behaviour on this file.
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From Day 1, it has been apparent that the federal government is improvising — by no means presenting correct knowledge to help its claims, refusing to interact in respectful dialogue or constructive session, regularly inventing new causes to justify its selections, and dismissing all significant proof. Most lately, the federal government even ignored a report from its personal advisory committee, which declared that the huge tuition hikes undermine accessibility, a trademark of Quebec’s and Concordia’s method to increased training.
What’s at stake isn’t just about Concordia. Our authorized proceedings goal to guard the autonomy of public establishments from undue authorities interference. It’s really unlucky and deeply regarding when a college should ask the courts to stop the dangerous results of ill-conceived and swiftly launched governmental insurance policies.
Additionally it is extraordinarily disappointing to see how little the federal government values its companions — whether or not that’s in defending French, coaching extremely expert staff, combating local weather change, enriching Quebec’s artwork and tradition or contributing to numerous different crucial areas the place Concordia and the federal government have collaborated up to now.
Being open, modern and collaborative has helped Concordia change into one of many world’s nice younger universities in one of many world’s nice college cities. Our successes profit Quebec, and a thriving Quebec permits Concordia to do much more.
For this reason we’re advocating now for what is correct. We imagine in defending what makes Quebec distinctive in addition to in how Concordia, as an emblem of minority cultures, will be particularly delicate to that uniqueness and exceptionally nicely positioned to counterpoint its brilliant future.
Graham Carr is the president and vice-chancellor of Concordia College.
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