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Our determination 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 attempting to have interaction 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 towards the measures. Sadly, we’re left with no different various.
This determination is definitely not about attacking our authorities. We agree that enhancements to the funding system for universities are wanted, given the power underfunding of all the Quebec college sector.
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Neither is our authorized recourse about pulling again from Concordia’s sturdy 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 determination to provoke authorized proceedings is about defending who we’re as an anglophone college, happy with our variety, accessibility, autonomy and repair to Quebec. It’s also about demonstrating that the federal government didn’t act responsibly or fairly in unilaterally imposing the schooling adjustments.
Concordia is a traditionally English establishment, with roots courting again to the nineteenth century by way of our two founding establishments, Loyola Faculty and Sir George Williams College. On the identical time, immediately’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 below legislation to weigh the pursuits and safety of the anglophone group 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 group.
The federal government failed in its obligations by implementing disruptive tuition insurance policies that completely 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 decreasing 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 stability its acknowledged goals with the rights of the English-speaking group and its establishments in implementing the brand new tuition insurance policies is a component 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 information to help its claims, refusing to have interaction in respectful dialogue or constructive session, regularly inventing new causes to justify its choices, and dismissing all significant proof. Most just lately, the federal government even ignored a report from its personal advisory committee, which declared that the large tuition hikes undermine accessibility, a trademark of Quebec’s and Concordia’s method to greater 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 actually unlucky and deeply regarding when a college should ask the courts to stop the dangerous results of ill-conceived and rapidly launched governmental insurance policies.
It’s also extraordinarily disappointing to see how little the federal government values its companions — whether or not that’s in defending French, coaching extremely expert staff, preventing local weather change, enriching Quebec’s artwork and tradition or contributing to numerous different important 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.
Because of this we’re advocating now for what is true. We consider in defending what makes Quebec distinctive in addition to in how Concordia, as an emblem of minority cultures, could be particularly delicate to that uniqueness and exceptionally effectively positioned to counterpoint its shiny future.
Graham Carr is the president and vice-chancellor of Concordia College.
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